Here's an excellent EP that is more than a little bit different from the last release from To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie. There's still some chaotic layering and busy panning effects with some nice programmed beats, but most of the tracks are built around melodic synths, at times getting a bit eerie in the distance. Aspects of "Enter Weatherly Scott" are really somber, including some excellent female singing vocals deep in the distance amidst thick layers of synths and perfectly handled beats - it sounds incredibly mature. I would love to hear that direction be a central focus, which it basically is on the following track, "Friends Long Absent Are Coming Back to You", where even more vocals are brought in under heavy delay with some clean and often reverse guitar lines. The introductory passage of "Take a Few Simple Measures to Ensure Your Comfort" is more aggressive and noisy, but it's still fairly calm compared to some of their previous recordings, and the latter chunk of the composition delves into subtle rhythms and drones that are damn near reminiscent of some of Ulver's recent work. The CD-R comes in a cream-colored slipcase with simple type and some minimal black and white drawings on it, and then a small xeroxed insert provides the track titles. Very nice. I'm really impressed by the level of growth expressed here, and if they continue along such a path I expect to be completely blown away in the future. I think it's time for a few labels to start paying some attention to this work...
[self-released]
Running time - 18:36, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: Friends Long Absent Are Coming Back to You]
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie - http://www.tokillapettybourgeoisie.us
