I’m becoming increasingly more fond of the EP as a format to release music. I’m not just talking about a lead single from an album with a bunch of b-sides and outtakes, but rather a small collection of fresh new tracks. P.E.I.’s Milks & Rectangles have done it right with their latest offering, Dirty Gold. The EP was engineered by Adam Gallant (English Words, Racoon Bandit) and produced by Daniel Ledwell (In-Flight Safety, Jenn Grant), the older brother of band member Christian Ledwell.
On first listen I was very surprised with what I was hearing. They played in Halifax twice during Halifax Pop Explosion including an in-store performance at Taz Records that was fairly unplugged featuring no microphones or percussion. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a full sound with songs that sound best played at loud volume and preferably with some movement of the body. Christian Ledwell delivers smart and catchy lyrics with that retro slightly fuzzy vocal style. The tracks on this EP are laced with that new wave and post punk feel with both Ledwell and lead guitarist Justin Uyterlinde using their instruments to add complexity to the choppy guitar riffs. A prime example of this is on the track “Hallow Earth Society” which features two guitars doing their own thing until the about two thirds through when it cuts to one guitar, and then is joined by a second guitar, than splits again into a different sound. While I’m not one to use the “this band sounds like x combined with y” formula during album reviews, it is hard to deny the influence of bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Interpol on the Milks & Rectangles sound. Each one of the five tracks features catchy guitar, vocals, solid bass and drums in an EP that packs a consistently powerful punch over 20 minutes. While that may be too short for some, Dirty Gold is exactly what an EP should be.
You can grab the Dirty Gold EP for free from their bandcamp page here.
If you think their name is awesome than vote for them in the CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards where they are nominated for Best New Band Name.
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