Yekaterinburg based Shoe Shine Six have a new EP out. Titled ’96 it features the songs I Will and two versions of the title track. The former errs on the side of dreampop set against a backdrop of shimmering guitars and soaring synths whilst ’96 in its original form is a full-on track fusing alt-rock and shoegaze with shouty female vocals. It’s noisy stuff but that all suddenly fades away on ’96 (Slow Synth Version) which is a fine piece of retro synth-pop sounding in parts like Blue Monday at a slower speed. I was expecting some toned-down vocals towards the end which would have enhanced the track but none were forthcoming. Still, it’s a nice instrumental piece which gave my ears a rest from the blast that was the opening two tracks! ’96 is available digitally from the band.