The Fugitives — Find Me

Most bands have a page named "Music" or "Albums" on their website. This Vancouver four-piece have one called "Music & Poetry," and for good reason.

Halfway through opening track "Breaking Promises," vocalist Barbara Alder (who trades singing duties with the other members) breaks in for a spoken word aside. The novel mix of singing and talking is intriguing, if nothing else.

The vocal harmonies on this five-song EP are top-notch. Overall, you could probably refer to The Fugitives' aesthetic as rootsy folk, but they've also been called slam-folk and folk-hop.

Find Me is certainly lyrically dense, but its most noticeable shortfall is its focus on words — whether spoken or sung — often at the expense of the music. Mid-album track "Music (Live)" is, oddly enough, void of music altogether.

Live, or perhaps on a full-length, this mixture of song and spoken word might work better than it does on this short release. What's here isn't unlikeable, just inadequate.