I’m liking the MCDs better all the time. Early releases seemed really shouty and separated. Like there was music and then there was a guy shouting from the other side of the parking lot. It never quite meshed for me, but with this EP and In Name and Blood, I’ve become a fan. Although if I zone out to the instrumental parts, I’ve caught myself thinking, “I don’t own any Doors. How’d that get in there?,” those incidents are becoming less and less. So, if you’re down with the dirty, hurt seagull in barbed wire vibe they’ve flown into, this EP’s further exploration of the type of drowning, dark sea swell hinted at before. It’s most evident with the use of languid organ, but the whole band’s finding their own sound, infusing the best ether whippits of Bauhaus, early death rock, and The Waterboys, chaining it to the rusty barge of punk rock, and sailing uncharted, dark oceans. On a completely different tip, imagine my surprise when this comes with a full computer video of a songs that’s not on the audio CD (“Idle Hands”) and lyrics to all the songs (which I wish were all printed on the insert because a lot folks don’t have computers). Fancy.
–todd (Sub Pop)