Close your eyes and play Nashville-based four-piece Dinner and a Suit’s new EP, Stay. This isn’t music to go to sleep with – rather, this is edgy pop-rock from a band on the move and on the rise. This is fifteen minutes of alt/indie pop rock that will definitely keep you up. Dinner and a Suit followed up their 2012 LP Since Our Departure last Tuesday with the release of Stay, a four-song EP that exhibits the band’s tastefully relevant pop/rock crossover sound that has boosted groups like Neon Trees and Imagine Dragons into worldwide critical acclaim.

Listen: “Can’t Get Enough” – Dinner And A Suit

Written on the road, Stay exhibits the band’s musical maturation over the past two years, which have seen Dinner and a Suit on an ever-constant touring schedule. Lead single “Can’t Get Enough” is a polished song with all the Dinner and a Suit essentials: Guitarist Joey Beretta’s reverb-tinged, Edge-like guitar riffs, drummer Drew Scheuer’s consistent and faithful fills, bassist Anthony Genca’s pocket-loving bass licks, and above all else, singer Jonathan Capeci’s golden, pop-perfect vocals.

The EP was recorded live to tape, rather than track by track – making it not only Dinner and a Suit’s rawest work, but also their most honest recording to date. The high-quality sound on Stay proves Dinner and a Suit’s capabilities as a band: Several of their sonic contemporaries are notorious for crafting a perfected ‘pop-rock’ sound through overproduction; meanwhile, Stay shows that Dinner and a Suit create this aura live.

Stay also displays the New Jersey natives’ lyrical growth. EP closer “Everything That You Do” is a slower, heart-on-sleeve track that finds the band at its most vulnerable state. Crooning atop a carefully-plotted guitar-filled soundscape, Capeci’s voice rings out:

I’m not gonna give it up / I’m not gonna let it go Why don’t you say something? / Why don’t you just come home? Everything that you do kills me And when the cold comes / everything feels wrong You don’t need to say nothing / Why don’t you just come home? Everything that you do kills me

Dinner and a Suit take a personal and humanistic approach to their music on Stay. The result is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also beautiful. Be sure to check out Dinner and a Suit’s Stay EP, and “stay” tuned for further news from this band. They’ve made a satisfying appetizer for now, but I have a feeling the main course is coming soon. This is the next generation of pop-rock.

Watch: “Making of the STAY EP – Behind The Scenes” – Dinner And A Suit

For fans of: U2, Neon Trees, Imagine Dragons, Bastille

:: DINNER AND A SUIT :: ON TOUR ::

10/25 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
11/14 – Nashville, TN – High Watt
11/17 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi
11/17 – Lansing, MI – Mac’s Bar
11/21 – State College, PA – Penn State University