This band used to be American Steel? Wow. They have definitely changed a great deal from those days, although this five-song EP—the band’s first release since the fallout from the Lookout! Records debacle—shows that they still retain some of that punk influence (“Got Your Number”). However, the vast majority of the seventeen minutes of material is treading pretty clear on the heels of bands like Q And Not U and maybe some more poppier emo acts around nowadays. The use of keyboards, which often feature prominently in the songs (see the Faint-esque “Somebody Poisoned the Well”), really takes any kind of connection to the band’s past and sets them apart on their own. While the songs are catchy and definitely numbers that will get the floor dancing—oh wait, most of the band’s fans are too pretentious to probably ever want to dance—will at least get them to tap their toes. That all being said, none of this is very original and seems to play off others who forged this music path before them too much so that I can’t listen to this without thinking something like, “Man, I sure do want to go listen to Q And Not U’s Power album.”
–kurt (Sabot)