Five years in the making, Life May Take Its Toll has the satisfying sprawl of a record allowed to find its own shape. The six-track debut EP from Brisbane songwriter and producer JJ Ryan moves freely between alt-rock, indie, punk, folk and more experimental textures, but its real strength lies in the way those influences remain tied to strong melodies and guitar-driven songwriting.
Opener ‘Time Is on Your Side’ begins that journey before focus track ‘Live Wire Halo’ delivers one of its clearest peaks. The song immediately stands out through its contrast between subject and sound. Darker ideas of isolation are pushed against bright, driving guitars and soaring vocal hooks, creating a tension that gives the track real momentum. Just as it seems to have established its direction, the arrangement slips into a more dreamlike bridge before the full band returns with considerably greater force.
Its closing stretch is also particularly effective. Instead of simply repeating the earlier energy, ‘Live Wire Halo’ expands into a hazy shoegaze outro, allowing the guitars to blur and broaden around the song. It’s a strong example of the EP’s willingness to move beyond straightforward indie-rock structures without sacrificing immediacy.
That adventurousness also carries into the rest of the EP. ‘Trenches’, featuring cello from Marco Pescosolido, introduces another texture into the artist’s guitar-centred world, while the brief ‘How Can I Lie Awake?’’offers a more compact change of pace. Whereas both ‘Safe in the Comfort’ and closing track ‘Don’t Ask Questions’ further underline the sense that Life May Take Its Toll is less interested in maintaining a single sound than in exploring how far JJ Ryan can stretch his songwriting within just six tracks.
Much of that variety is particularly impressive given the EP’s largely self-contained creation. He wrote, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered the release himself, performing vocals alongside guitars, bass, percussion, synths, organ and Mellotron, with a rotating cast of collaborators adding drums, cello and spoken word. Even the hand-painted artwork reinforces the sense of a project shaped from beginning to end by the same creative vision.
In all, Life May Take Its Toll feels appropriately imperfect, ambitious and restless. And on ‘Live Wire Halo’ especially, JJ Ryan shows that his best moments arrive when a good indie-rock song is allowed to grow stranger around the edges.