Murder in the Red Barn "s/t" CD
[Ed Walters]
This is a lot different than their full-length in my opinion. It's got a lot of the same elements, and it's still really unique, but this time it sounds like idiosyncratic indie rock to me, whereas before I truly thought they were avoiding any real genre tags. I can hear some Slint, some Fugazi, some Jawbreaker, some Boilermaker, etc. but it still retains its own sound. From discordant distorted passages and yelled vocals to excellent calm breaks with warm clean guitars and nice singing, they cover all the bases. The saxophone is absent here, and I think I like it that way. It didn't bother me when it was present, but I think that this more stripped down sound gives everything more room to breathe. The writing does rely far more on the calmer side, but they have such an odd sense of melody, often using notes that clash with one another in a very effective manner, so it's definitely achieving a curious atmospheric quality. "Cutthroats" was on their full-length and is once again among my favorites here, while "Last Stop" was recorded live at WFMU in New Jersey - though the sound is pretty much identical to the other four tracks!? The production is pretty good. At first things sounded slightly muffled to me, and that's still the case to some degree, but it works out. Everything is dense and warm, not to mention totally natural. It really all sounds a bit like it was recorded live in a controlled situation, it just has that dry sort of live sound to it. Everything is audible, though. I like the mix, I think that's one of the chief strengths to the sound. Of course it could use a little work, but I don't mind it at all. The layout is very minimal across the board. The artwork is plain red/brown colors with splashes of abstract gray, the text is minimal, and there's only a onecard insert with a tiny bit of recording information. The lineup is listed on the traycard, the song titles are listed on the back, and that's about it. No lyrics, no photos, nothing. As a whole I think their full-length was barely stronger than this based solely on the presentation and the fact that I felt it truly defied categorization. But that being said, I think this more "tangible" direction is definitely the more promising one, and I'll be curious to hear this band's future work for sure. (6/10)
Running time - 19:02, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Seventy-Six, Cutthroats]
Ed Walters Records - http://www.edwaltersrecords.org

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