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The first in a series of split EPs from Vagrant Records,
The Anniversary and Superdrag have teamed up
for a clever little six-song effort. Both bands avoid such
split EP clichés as covering each other’s tracks or
any other such silliness, opting instead to simply offer up
three new and forward-thinking tracks each.
The Anniversary step up to the plate first, and any fan of
the band is immediately taken back by the radical new sound.
The once bouncy and moog-driven protégés of
The Get Up Kids have set their sights on a more rocking
pop sound with an obvious Beatles and 60’s pop influence.
"O’ Lady Butterfly" begins simply enough, building
up to lovely and slightly psychedelic guitar work accompanied
by harmonica, as well as more subtle keyboards and female
harmonizing than on the band’s sugary sweet debut, Designing
A Nervous Breakdown. The lo-fi "Anais" is a
folky and bluesy, Dylan-meets-the-Beatles acoustic
guitar and tambourine laced track complete with "la da
da da" choruses and male/female harmonizing. Then comes
"Up In The Sky," another number influenced by older
pop that relies a little more on Adrianne Pope’s gorgeous
background vocals. All three songs are entirely enjoyable,
and certainly a step in the right direction for one of the
few Vagrant bands that fails to sell its soul to mediocrity.
Superdrag is not to be outdone. The band contributes three
rocking songs, "Take Your Spectre Away," "The
Emotional Kind" and "I Guess It’s American,"
again citing 60’s pop as a heavy influence. The three songs
don’t represent as radical of a departure as do those contributed
by The Anniversary, but they do show some change, sounding
quite different from the band’s most recent material, giving
off more of an old school vibe. "I Guess It’s American"
rocks out the most of the three, and is possibly the highlight
of the band’s set, but all three are far from harmful on the
ears.
Most EPs simply offer up some familiar sounding material
and leave the drastic changes for the full-length releases,
but that fails to be true this time around. Fans of both bands,
especially of The Anniversary, should keep an open mind while
giving this a first listen. In the case of both bands, this
really makes you want to see what they are capable of in the
future.
- Eddie Fournier
Track Listing:
- O’ Lady Butterfly
- Anais
- Up in the Sky
- Take Your Spectre Away
- The Emotional Kind
- I Guess It’s American
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