This record contains Burn Burn Burn tracks, the band for which Drew Smith is the singer and main songwriter for. As someone who has known Drew since before he started Burn some eight years ago, I’ve heard these tracks a billion times—but never like this. Each song is stripped down, delivered at almost half the speed, and has added instrumentation like keys, glockenspiel, and chord organ. He says in the liner notes that this record is a way of putting some old songs to rest and moving on as he continues to make major positive changes in his life. There’s definitely an innate sweetness in hearing these tracks on an acoustic with Drew’s voice sometimes cracking over the long-held notes. For someone who is typically screaming these same words over a five piece band, I really appreciate the rawness of his singing voice. Though I’ve seen Drew perform acoustic shows, as well as heard him working on new songs in the garage of our old shared punk house, he never sounded quite as open and vulnerable as he does on this EP. So while the liner notes joke about how you may have bought the same songs twice if you’re a Burn Burn Burn fan, I’d argue these are completely new in this format. I do hope he does some more solo work in the future. –Kayla Greet (Tiny Dragon)