Man, I tried and tried to like the last Distraction full-length, and I sat on the fence with it for a long time, finally falling off, coming to the ultimate conclusion that it was a simpler Stitches. And, due to gross geographic proximity of the two bands (thirty miles, tops), I figured that that subdivision needed only one Stitches. This EP has got me doing some serious re-figuring. Gone are the “Is that Mike Lohrman singing?” vocals, replaced by none other than Le Shok and Neon King Kong’s Hot Rod Todd, who sounds like he’s huffing paint and slurring simultaneously. Also greatly whipping this thing into another shape are the keyboards, which roam through the recording like a fat boa constrictor, gently sliding in and out, squeezing and bulging unexpected bits and pieces to the front. I never had a problem with the Distraction’s string work, and it all comes into focus on this EP. The whole enterprise makes a hell of a lot more sense when it stands on its own two musical legs. Thumbs up, also to the 3-D cover (with Distraction-logo’d glasses) and the fact that this is a one-sided 12” EP makes it almost impossible for these guys to break even, so you know this thing’s from the heart and not just the wallet.
–todd (TKO)