Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving bring to the fold here an EP that according to the band sprung up out of a series of jams and random ideas that were brought to the table. It went on to grow and evolve and was written and recorded in the studio over a period of time.

The title track of the EP, "Tiny Fragments" plays out over three parts and travels through so many different styles and moods that it would almost do it an injustice to over analyse and talk about it. Born from improvisation and free flowing creativity it is quite an organic track that builds and falls and twists and turns through moments of pure progressive fusion, Frank Zappa-esque passages and huge post-rock build ups that rise towards a really huge and boiling ending.

While I don't want to over talk the title track in terms of picking apart every influence or genre that it travels through, I will make mention that the production on the EP is awesome. I guess a benefit of writing in the studio is that you're tracking from the get go, so you can put down songs as they come about, exactly as you want them. It was produced by Aaron Pollard who also provides [awesome] piano, synths, vocals and acoustic guitar for the band.

The EP also includes the closer "The Banshee" which is a 10 minute track that while having the same sort of vibe as "Tiny Fragments" doesn't invoke the same sort of emotions in me as a listener. While still a great track with an immense outro I think the musical journey of "Tiny Fragments" is much more memorable and vast in scope. It's not a track to be skipped or dismissed, however after the grandiose musical sojourn of "Tiny Fragments" I think maybe "The Banshee" could have been a better opener for the EP, leading into the title track.

I would love to see how the tracks of this EP come across in a live setting as I would assume they would need to use a great deal of sampling, but also to see the musicianship that the band would need to pull off some of the flurries of changes in style and timing would be quite a sight to see. I can imagine it'd be quite the flooring experience.

The band's MySpace page says "they would rather risk potential failure than never pursue the invention of interesting art" which I think will serve these guys really well. Being able to take that risk to put out the music that you want to, and not pandering to genre boundaries I think will always help a progressive band in keeping things fresh and interesting.

What this Western Australian four-piece has done with this recording is to capture a great sense of fusion in ideas and execution that comes together really well. They've created an EP that takes metal, funk, jazz, post rock, prog rock/metal, moments of electronica and mixes it all up in a way that really finds each part complimenting the next and doesn't leave any styles or influences grating against each other.

I can't wait to see what this band do with a full length album of material, as I have no doubts that it will be something very special.

Check out Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving on their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ttol.