Stereobate/The Distance Formula - split 7"
(Distance Formula)
The 7" is dead. Long live the 7". I'm not sure who releases 7"s anymore. Sure, there are several popular bands who release them in limited quantities as a sure-sell to the collectors and die-hards. But where are the normal, hard-working bands who still put out 7"s? It's almost like these bands would have to waste their best songs for a 7" in order to have any chance of getting it out there. And that seems to be the case for this new 7&quo; pairing Distance Formula Recordings bands The Distance Formula and Stereobate, two bands with hit-and-miss records.
Stereobate's song "Distress Call From the Mid-Atlantic (That'll be One For Me and Another For My Friend, Captain Joe Hazelwood)" is as good as anything on their latest album, Selling Out in the Silent Era. The song starts off loud and hard, using effects to create an interesting dense sounde, much like early Mogwai. Afterwards, the band quiets down and centers on the rhythm of the guitar, turning into more of a June of 44 sound, only with more atmospherics in the background.
The Distance Formula's first song, "Brooklyn Celebrity," is also very good, sounding a lot like what Spoon's Can-inspired pop would sound like if Spoon was actually able to pull it off. The guitars are rhythmic and hard, coming in bursts, and the vocals are sweetly done. Their second song, "I Don't Look to Staten Island For Inspiration (and I Certainly Ain't Going to Newark Except For the Rodizio)," however, seems to be more of a joke song as it, at times, attempts to be grindcore. The guitars are still interesting, but with no vocals to counteract them, when they drift into metal territory, it makes the song grating not funny--the song likely is just space filler.
In this small dose, both of these bands seem pretty good. Maybe their full lengths deserve another listen.
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