Fuck yeah, great name for a great EP from a great band. Just about 15 minutes of dirty, angular, hardcore/punk inspired rock 'n' roll from Kentucky, where the songs average a little over a minute each and jump from straight up rock to chugging hardcore/punk power chords to twisted, caustic discordance that's fairly well controlled. Among the longer tracks, "Year of the Pig" opens it up with a little more creativity by changing things up between some of the angular riffing with lots of dual guitar interaction and straight up rock riffs accented by awesome little dissonant twists during the chorus; "Miracle Cure" often has an early-80's US hardcore sound to it; and "Dehumanize" plows through a minute of contemporary crust punk, which returns in "Head Down & Burn" by stripping away the former's added heaviness to hit on the Discharge meets Mot?rhead vibe that some of their past work has flirted with. But "Set it Straight" is the absolute classic of the disc, shifting from memorable rock runs to catchy bursts of subtle melodic dissonance that make for an amazing chorus that's actually quite emotional considering. I'm all over that shit. The recording on this outing is a little more spacious than their full-length, with a thick sound, but one that's rawer and somewhat grittier. I still think they ought to give the bass a little more prominence in the mix, but for the most part this fucker sounds dead on for what they're doing. It's not overly heavy and in your face at all, but that lets the vocals and percussion possess a nice dryness, as well as allowing the dirtiness of the guitar tone to add a lot of texture to the mix. Everything these dudes crank out sounds totally solid, but once they can pump that bass up a little more they're really gonna hit it out of the park. I'm loving the fuckin' layout on this one too, using nothing but high contrast black and yellow for shitloads of collaged imagery and interesting arrangements chock full of skulls and skeletons (Some of which are on motorcycles!?) in a manner that's not the least bit generic. Great stuff. Lyrically many of the tracks hint at commentary on larger issues, but the cool thing is that nothing loses its personal touch, so in the end the tracks all kind of deal with just managing to get by in the world: "Nothing's wrong close my eyes clear my mind I put my head down and burn been so goddamn alone I can barely fucking think behind the wheel for days that never end with every mile further I sink..." This is a great fucking EP, so keep looking out for more from these guys, 'cause I don't think they're gonna lose steam any time soon. I hope not, anyway!
[Manic Ride]
Running time - 14:58, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Year of the Pig, Head Down & Burn, Set it Straight]
Manic Ride Records - http://www.manicriderecords.com
