The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike are two post punk bands that are not screwing around. Their collaborative s/t EP shows the depth of both bands commitment and sincerity.
The CD starts off with the cooperative work of both bands in the beautiful harmonies known as Wrong Hometown. The music for this track, done by Small Town Bike has a punk rock feel to it, and the sand paper vocals, thrown in by the Casket Lottery, seal in the punk rock goodness until the very last note.
The second track of this 6 song EP showcases what is Small Brown Bike's signature sound. The smooth guitars that tie every beat together, coupled with the gritty vocals and harmonies, weave a catchy and chaotic melody.
Track three brings a very well-done cover of Queen's Under Pressure. Both bands come together on this track to do the boys in Queen proud with a true-to-the-original, yet rocked out version of this classic.
The Casket Lottery chimes in with an original with Composing Myself. A solid song both lyrically and musically, this track is a creepy attempt at describing what it is like to lose someone you have been in a relationship with. The eerie guitars at the end of this song seem to paint a picture of a former lover driving off over a hill, never to be heard from again. The word pictures in The Casket Lottery's songs are as much poetry as they are song lyrics—a welcome change to the emotionless drivel that is being passed off in a lot of the so-called "post punk" bands' lyrics today.
The last two tracks on this disc wind the listener down, ending with the emotional ballad, Riding with Death. Fans of Green Day's immensely popular hit Time of Your Life will see at once the attempt made by these two bands to leave a lasting impression with an emotionally charged song full of meaning and inspiration.
Overall, despite some obvious production and mixing faux pas, this disc is an exceptional attempt at what it is, a post punk outing into the minds of two great bands.
- Jeff Petermann
Action Attack Helicopter Magazine
Article comments