Hotel Decor's Debut EP Is an Ambitious Stylistic Balancing Act That Pays Off
When we last caught up with Canadian artist Hotel Decor, the Canadian artist had just released his debut single "All The Rage," a refreshing indie-pop cut whose chillwave influence was just as intentional as it was understated.
This week Hotel Decor returns to us a new man with the release of his debut EP, Could It Take Me Any Longer, a collection of four diverse tracks that manage to do everything but overstay their welcome. From alt-rock bangers to late-night-drive anthems, Could It Take Me Any Longer is an incredible showcase of Hotel Decor's raw artistic talent.
Shortly after the release of "All The Rage," Hotel Decor released a second single in anticipation of his debut EP. The eponymous "Could It Take Me Any Longer" was just as inspired by chillwave as the track that preceded it, indicating that his then forthcoming EP could possibly be a short collection of tracks that exist in the same vein. Always full of curveballs and unpredictability, Hotel Decor takes a left turn with his two newest tracks that make up the rest of his debut project.
Abandoning his compressed vocals and washed out feel, "I Can't Remember" adopts a much more sleek aural register, favoring light synths, electronic percussion, and a metric ton of bassline movement. This is one of the most admirable things about Hotel Decor: his indifference to trends and desire to broaden his horizons through experimentation and risk taking.
So it should come as no surprise that the EP closer "Maybe Not Tonight" throws the blueprint out the window with an original alt-rock banger. From Hotel Decor's polished vocal performance to the steady guitar track that decorates the tail-end of "Could It Take Me Any Longer," "Maybe Not Tonight" sounds like it could have been torn straight out of The Strokes' back catalog. Synthesizing an alt-rock inclination with a clear affinity for indie-pop and chillwave stylistics, Hotel Decor provides listeners with music that is truly in a lane of its own.
Listen to Could It Take Me Any Longer below:
