Shipping News - Sickening Bridge EP
(Quarterstick)
Sickening Bridge is the second CDEP in a series of three, each containing three songs (a solo song from each member of the band). The basic idea of the series was to allow each member to expand their horizons as a songwriter by writing and recording the song apart from the group in a fairly quick time frame. Carrier, the first EP in the series, was wonderful. It felt unified and still showcased their individual musical visions. On the Sickening Bridge EP, the band opens up even more to show us how broad their interests run... but this time, the results aren't as successful.
The first and best song on the EP, "Haunted on Foot," stays true to the band's Rodan/June of 44 history with jagged repeating guitars in odd counts and patterns, steady bass, smoothly following the root notes of the guitar chords, and straight but interesting drum beats. The main differences between "Haunted on Foot" and older Rodan or June of 44 is the singing style. Instead of talking the vocal parts in an insistent and intense manner, the vocals are more sung than spoken (though still a mixture of the two), and are much more laid back and floating inside the structure of the song.
The second song, "We Start to Drift," really caught me by surprise. The first 4 and 1/2 minutes sound musically like a mix of Piano Magic and downbeat Depeche Mode with monotone, repetitive, and drab vocals. Said combination of bands might not sound like too bad of a mix to me, since I love most Piano Magic albums, and I secretly own and love more than my fair share of Depeche Mode records. However, they just don't do it that convincingly or well... they just can't really pull it off effectively. After the first 4 and 1/2 minutes, the song fades into a wonderful 4-minute part with electronic tones oscillating and pulsing. I wish the whole song were as good as these last few minutes.
"Now That Your Diamond Lined Star is Failing You, What Fair Silhouette Would Best Suit This Satellite," is almost as odd as "We Start to Drift." It seems to be a mix of a fairly traditional folk style of songwriting, using traditional folk singing, with the "June of 44" style. And, as sad as I am to say it, much like the last song, it just doesn't work. While I applaud the band trying to expand their musical horizons and their songwriting styles, I just think that some of said experimenting should be left to cassettes the band can keep in their private collections.
"Haunted on Foot" tuned out really great, but since it is only one of three songs, this EP is definitely for hard-core Shipping News/June of 44/Rodan fans only.
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