ARTICLE JUMP
EP's are a great format for music; lately I have really been digging them because of the brevity. This year was a good year for the format as bands released them for multiple reasons: teasers for next albums, holdovers between albums, forums for experimentation, etc.
- Playing Enemy - My Life As the Villain (Hex)
- Narrows - Narrows (Deathwish Inc.)
- Envy - Abyssal (Temporary Residence)
- Helms Alee - Helms Alee (Rome Plow/ Broken Press)
- Integrity - Walpurgisnacht (A389 Records)
A great swan song that is as bittersweet as it comes; Playing Enemy added an odd catchiness to their repertoire for My Life As the Villain and then that is all we get. I know they really broke up prior to this coming out, but that does not make hearing this any less off a reminder that this band never got its due, never really got noticed, and only rarely gets mentioned as a footnote when speaking a bands like Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye, and Rorschach (where some of these did time in at one point or another).
This debut EP by Narrows delivered in ways that the hype machine did not necessarily expect, and that is a good thing. It does sound like the sum of its parts, (which is a good thing) but is thankfully not a re-tread of its members' other previous and current projects. I still say the last track, "The Touch Test," makes this record. Either way, no one should have missed this record in 2008, if you did, be ashamed because this teaser for their upcoming album is tantalizing.
Hard to believe that Envy's EP, Abyssal came out in 2008, but it did just that and still resides here in my top EP's list this year. A bit of a holdover for their next album due in 2010 (reportedly), Abyssal is great because it seems to mash new Envy with smatterings of their older material; surprisingly (due to the vast difference in style the band has undergone during its lifetime), the band pulls it off rather well.
The introduction to Helms Alee that was extremely limited and difficult to track down, but those who did knew what was in store for their full-length. Containing one song, "Borrowed Wind," not found on their full length, Night Terror, the vinyl release (interestingly enough the most plentiful version of the recordings) is well worth tracking down not just to get that song, but also for the great packaging for the release.
Yes, Integrity is back, if only fleetingly for the moment. These two tracks prove that Dwid's dark vehicle can still be as powerful as ever. This is one hell of a teaser for the full-length in 2009, but anyone into Integrity should have this already. Hell, anyone into hardcore should have this already.
(Bob)
