| Welcome to EP Roundup, in which we draw a whole lotta lovin' from some truly excellent EPs currently making the rounds. Alright, everyone...group hug! |
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EP Roundup
I have always liked the EP, stuffed to the gills with three or four or five tracks; larger than a regular-old, two-track single, smaller than an album, yet still able to leap from the speakers and pack a Richter scale-sized punch.
One of the best EPs of the last 10 years, Splitsville's masterful four-song love letter to Brian Wilson, Pet Soul, morphed into a full-length, 11-track album three years after the EP was distributed as a promotional release at the 1998 Poptopia festival in Los Angeles. The Complete Pet Soul more than lived up to the promise of its leaner cousin, but in this case the cousin seemed a complete entity in its own right, and so it is.
That's the EP for you...when it's good, it's very, very good. Like the following, hitbound, short-formers, each and every one a winner.
The decidedly sixties-focused British quartet Karmatruffle has released a simply smashing three-track single in advance of their upcoming album. On the strength of the punchy Who-meets- Monkees stomper "She's Not All That"; the Free Design-meets-Byrds rocker "Let It Go"; and the pulsating, trippy nod to the late 60s, "A Better Way," this talented, Bath, England-based foursome is an aggregation to watch and groove to for the long haul.
On the back cover of the Fame's debut release, Get On the Beat, listeners are encouraged to "Play This Loud." Trust me, these guys know what they're talking about, so fair warning. Crank up the victrola for the mondo-catchy power pop hit-waiting-to-happen title song (featuring an insanely-infectious singalong, one-syllable-chorus); the driving "Lost in You" and "The Bedford Girls"; the power-poppy "Close to Me"; the rocking "Easy on You"; and the infectious, short slam of the hooky "Come On." Very late-seventies and eighties, but with a modern sheen, Reno Bo's songs are precious, perfectly-constructed mini-masterpieces of the skinny tie variety, brought to life with lots of guitars and commanding lead vocals and harmonies. There is quite the lot of sweat in these grooves, and it shows.
Straight-ahead power poppers 2nd Day Crush deliver the goods on their six-track lollapalooza EP, 624. The quartet maintains a brisk pace with tightly-written tunes steeped in the power pop tradition, with a little rock spice thrown in for good measure. The players consistently appoint themselves as keen purveyors of the art; dig, Rick Barrio-Dill's thrilling bass line on the rocking "It's Not Me" and the sensitive vocal turn by Chris Drizen on the power ballad "Sometimes." The eminently-catchy "Something Now" closes out a mighty impressive EP.
Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, the nattily-attired foursome known as Locksley (white ties and black shirts for that spiffy, GQ look) are rooted squarely in the sound of the original British Invasion (that's the one from the sixties, sports fans). You'd be hard-pressed to find a group of like-minded musicians better at this game. The band's promo lit name checks the Beatles and the Kinks, and I think that's about right, which is a very good thing. These guys have the goods, from great harmony vocals to punchy, well-deep hook-filled songs delivered with panache and a generous side of retro. The poppy "Into the Sun" is a skillful nod to early Beatles, as is the Hard Day's Night-era midtempo ballad "All of the Time."
The second band in our roundup to nod to the Who, in this case the band's early years, Locksley makes the rave-up cool again with the efficient bopper "She Does," buoyed by a screaming guitar solo and a way-cool screaming lead vocal, all delivered to waiting ears in an economical 1:53. The just-south-of-power-ballad closer, "In Love/In Time," sports a lovely chorus and alluring harmonies. Locksley's going to be big; get in on the ground floor and say you were there at the explosive beginning.
Liverpool Days, a 2003 release from Herbert & Howat, isn't the duo's latest disc, but it is an EP (and it says so right on the cover) and it is oh so incredibly wonderful. If you need a taster that practically screams Fabs worship, this is it, but it really is much more than that. Like all of the bands included in this roundup, H&H's songs sprout from seeds planted in the sixties and seventies while also functioning as contemporary slices of pop. The title track is a virtual love letter to the Beatles, totally tuneful and hooky as hooky can be.
"Wrong Place Right Time" has a "Two of Us" kind of feel and a very British Invasion sound, complete with harmonica and gorgeous harmony vocals. The wonderful "Tell Me Why" (not the Beatles song) sounds tailor made for the early Fabs with its classic melodic structure and inventive chord progression in the chorus. The melodic, orchestrated "Everyday Without You" will break your heart with its tale of committed love. "I Want You So Bad" is similarly seductive. "I Don't Know Why" is very 1967 Beatles, very George Martin, and very, very Herbert and Howat. It would be hard to imagine a world without this duo, methinks.
So there you go, five EPs to thrill your ear buds. Have at them, and tell them buhdge sent you.
Alan Haber
August 7, 2005
Go to:
Karmatruffle
The Fame
2nd Day Crush
Locksley
Kenny Herbert