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The sincerity displayed by musician Mark Watter throughout his “Open Bones” EP makes it very easy for any listener to be fully transfixed by his commanding croon and the three songs that make up the new EP. A mostly darkly shrouded indie sound, “Open Bones” opts for a gentler singer/songwriter bend overall. On “Scar Scar Scar” you hear Watter’s eclectic impulses play out song to song. Some baseline elements run through almost all 3 tracks. High-gloss production, dynamic instrumentation, and a spirited-sounding performance help the songs jell into an easily digestible EP of accessible melodies and folky pop. The joyous and breezy number “Lovely” makes the most of Watter’s impeccable vocal harmonies, steeped in classic Beatles-worship influence but coming off like a strange hybrid of Brendan Benson and Connor Oberst.
