Earl Greyhound : Earl Greyhound


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I remember reading an article on X-Entertainment.com about the Hungry Man All Day Breakfast, a heaping helping of food that weighed in just over a pound and had a staggering 1,030 calories (570 calories from fat). It also had 231% the amount of cholesterol and 104% the amount of saturated fat required for a person’s daily nutritional intake. Contained in this marvel of the microwave age were strange looking home fries, bacon described as resembling horse scabs, questionable looking sausage links, powdery fake eggs and three pancakes.

When describing the pancakes, the column read: “I’ve really got nothing at all to say about them. I like my paragraphs to at least look impressive on the skim-through, so I’d really hate to have to end this one so soon. My hope is that you’re not really reading the article, moreover just scanning through while looking at the pictures and judging how good the article must be based on the general length of the paragraphs you skip. If that’s the case, it affords me the chance to type totally off-topic, random words just for the sake of making this bitch seem lengthy.”

Why did I bring this up?

Well, I needed something to make this review seem more substantial since Earl Greyhound’s self-titled EP hasn’t left me with much to speak about. It’s not that Earl Greyhound is bad; in fact the riffage, drum crashes and harmonized vocals that usher in the opener, “Teenage Kidnap,” are promising and it is a pretty palatable power pop delight; but the three songs that follow “Teenage Kidnap” feel a little lethargic and uninspired by comparison, leaving something to be desired.

“Welcome Back Father,” with its group “nah-nahs,” recalls some dirty bar, smoky neon sign, pick-up truck rock and roll with a requisite, bend-heavy, trilling solo. “Not Gonna Wait” fares better with its skipping verse, cowbell dinks and chorus hook propelled by falsetto vocals, but the song loses a little steam during the lumbering bridge. “Fashion,” the EP finisher that returns to the dirty bar of “Welcome Back Father,” is grimier, more languid and even more rooted in the world of hazy roadhouses and stages surrounded by chicken wire. As a singing duo, frontman Matt Whyte and bassist Kamara Thomas even belt some surly innuendo, but the song doesn’t really stand out nor is it characterized by the promising hooks found in previous songs.

As a whole, Earl Greyhound’s EP isn’t bad by any means; it’s just on the unremarkable side, kind of like those Hungry Man pancakes. Here’s to hoping for a more filling and better tasting follow-up.

Similar Albums:
The Replacements – Tim
Wilco – AM
Big Star – Number #1 Record

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