Mix # 16, Tracks 5-8: A Second Chance At A First Impression EP
Theme: The Metamix or; a Primer for Those Lost and Wandering, in seven parts
It’s a rare thing when a band sinks its hooks into you. It’s even rarer when they manage such a feat a second time, either through a follow-up project or via an artist’s previous lesser-known work. This is an EP of songs by musicians that managed to hook me once, and then did so a second time in a previous or post-breakup incarnation.
5). Lemon Yellow Black — Jets To Brazil
Jets To Brazil are the real rarity; a great band with little in common with their predecessors (Jawbreaker). There’s almost no way the same guy who gave us Boxcar could have given us Lemon Yellow Black, yet here we are.
6). Looking Down AT The Great Wall of China — Chisel
Unlike JTB, Chisel is a much smaller leap away from Ted Leo’s later self-branded work. A little rawer, a little punker, but not so much that this song would feel out of place as a Hearts Of Oak b-side. Instead of finding a new band it’s like finding a band you already loved released two albums you didn’t know about.
7). Let’s Get Incredible — Lifter/Puller
Same as with Chisel, Craig Finn’s pre-Hold Steady band is just a more raw version of his later band, exploring the same themes and influences wrapped in a lyrical world of fictional losers and dealers and sinners.
8). New Drinks For The Old Drunk — Crooked Fingers
As with Jets To Brazil, Eric Bachmann’s Archers of Loaf follow-up has little in common with his previous band. Somewhere along the way Bachmann’s droll indie-kid near-whine mellowed into a sonorous Neil Diamond-like croon, and his music went from something you should hear blasting from a dorm room window to something you’d listen to on your back porch sipping a beer and watching the sun set.
—Dana
Theme: The Metamix or; a Primer for Those Lost and Wandering, in seven parts
It’s a rare thing when a band sinks its hooks into you. It’s even rarer when they manage such a feat a second time, either through a follow-up project or via an artist’s previous lesser-known work. This is an EP of songs by musicians that managed to hook me once, and then did so a second time in a previous or post-breakup incarnation.
5). Lemon Yellow Black — Jets To Brazil
Jets To Brazil are the real rarity; a great band with little in common with their predecessors (Jawbreaker). There’s almost no way the same guy who gave us Boxcar could have given us Lemon Yellow Black, yet here we are.
6). Looking Down AT The Great Wall of China — Chisel
Unlike JTB, Chisel is a much smaller leap away from Ted Leo’s later self-branded work. A little rawer, a little punker, but not so much that this song would feel out of place as a Hearts Of Oak b-side. Instead of finding a new band it’s like finding a band you already loved released two albums you didn’t know about.
7). Let’s Get Incredible — Lifter/Puller
Same as with Chisel, Craig Finn’s pre-Hold Steady band is just a more raw version of his later band, exploring the same themes and influences wrapped in a lyrical world of fictional losers and dealers and sinners.
8). New Drinks For The Old Drunk — Crooked Fingers
As with Jets To Brazil, Eric Bachmann’s Archers of Loaf follow-up has little in common with his previous band. Somewhere along the way Bachmann’s droll indie-kid near-whine mellowed into a sonorous Neil Diamond-like croon, and his music went from something you should hear blasting from a dorm room window to something you’d listen to on your back porch sipping a beer and watching the sun set.
—Dana
Source: Spotify
