This has the early to mid 90’s written all over it. Groups like HELMET, COP SHOOT COP, TODAY IS THE DAY, DISTORTED PONY, GOD AND TEXAS and FUDGETUNNEL come to mind. If you can’t get enough of downtuned dissonant guitar, super distorted bass, high pitched piccolo snare drum (a couple years later imitated by the drum machines for the jungle sound) and distorted yelping lo fi vocals that sit slightly under the mix then this is for you. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been so long since I have heard any act appropriate this sound that it’s kind of a welcome return to form. It’s also not hard to believe that these guys come from Chi town either. Their windy city effort opens with the ultra distorted bass heavy pummelers “White Squall” and “The Sea Is Angry”. These first two cause such a ruckus it’s understandable that the dynamic lowers a little bit in the middle of this EP. When the bass is not distorted it has that Musicman humbucker tone that I’ve never liked. It’s kind of like Joe Lally’s tone in FUGAZI. I always dug his lines but never liked his sound. It only kind of sticks out a couple times here a little on “The Ham & Eggs Fire” and a little bit on this disc’s closer “Eating Staples” which mixes Joe’s FUGAZI sound with Henry HELMET’s G&L humbucker bass sound (which fares better). “Drooling” shows the band’s musical prowess more so than the other tracks here. Not a bad start even if the style is somewhat dated.

- Herring

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