Sloan Peterson - Midnight Love, Vol. 2 (2019)

Actually, her real name is not Sloan Peterson, it is Joe Jackson. But, unless you want to be confused with the oldish New Waver, you've got to change your name. And that is what this Australian did when she came up with her debut EP Midnight Love back in 2017.

Two albums later, she comes up with a sort of sequel EP, Midnight Love Vol. 2, and you are immediately put in a position to make comparisons. The immediate impression could be that it is like a listening list of Sloan’s favourite music, and like on her debut, she takes those influences with loving care and transforms them into her own songs, with a definite personal touch.

Peterson is an obvious fan of the Eighties New Wave (title track and “New Direction”), Pixies (“Don’t Get Me Started”), but also of French girl singers, say, Claudine Longet (“Here”), even Buddy Holly (“Missing Me”), and certainly David Bowie and his other ardent fans throughout. But there is also a cinematic influence, Sloan cited herself, the one of Wes Anderson and his soundtrack man Mark Mothersbaugh.

Still, Peterson navigates through these with ease and aplomb showing that she has assimilated all those sounds and has made them her very own, like on “Our Love”, with “Here” and closing track “Very Like You” possibly the highlight of the EP.

Midnight Love Vol. 2 is a good EP, and as is the case with good EP’s, since they are relatively short, you tend to spin them for at least one more round.