Before
Braille
"Cattle Punching on a Jack Rabbit" CDEP
Sunset
Alliance
Genres: math rock, indie rock
Sunset Alliance
PO Box 32048
Mesa, AZ 85275
Aug 7 - 13 2004 |
As far as energetic math-rock goes, this is about as good as it
gets. Before Braille is an Arizona-based four-piece with
a penchant for complex arrangements and subtly infectious
melodies. Cattle Punching on a Jack Rabbit is a fine
taste of the band's style, and at seven tracks, it packs a lot of
content for an EP.
After a brief, tone-setting instrumental, the endlessly infectious
"Proventil" hits with a bang. It takes cues from the Braid
and Fugazi schools of indie rock. "Well as
Well" is a bit more sensitive and could have paranoid self-awares
getting riled up over its emo-like emotion. Despite this,
however, it is one of Cattle Punching's best songs.
Unfortunately, a few of these tracks don't live up to Before
Braille's better moments. "We're Not Paying For
Anything Anymore" isn't catchy in the least, while "Fight or
Flight" sounds way too familiar - like half the singles on any
given modern rock station out there.
However, on Cattle the good outweighs the bad, and, as a
result, this is a very satisfying EP. I am looking forward to Before
Braille's upcoming album.
84%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 7 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2004] |