Normal

'Normal' is a seven track EP that's easy to consume for the 20 or so minute overall length of three and change intervals that come away like curvy bends obscured by brush and dark paths. I can hear several bands going at once and yet hear nothing I can readily distribute for comparison -- yet 'Hey Mercedes' comes to mind, though I'd bet against any note for note parallels at work. 'Ten Minutes' is the first and likely worst of the bunch in that it sets a lethargic tone that twice over, did me in, but if nothing else, gave stronger depth to the followers -- highlighted by the emotional swoon and swell of 'Sleepless,' 'Blackjack Master' and of course, 'Waves,' where dread and drone continue to play kid games with catchy rhythms of lowly tuned and echo-less guitar licks and harmonic intrusions, boosted, occasionally by violent bouts of reverb, and ironically, melancholic bow strikes and bass beats to carefully accompany Jon Chinn's smothered when not, 'Sleepless,' singing voice. Overall, there are effectual moments to peek behind the cloud cover and reveal an ambitious means to escape the doldrums of a moody, emotive, and seemingly effortless run for this Rock and Roll sigh of a record that remains relaxed beneath the surface of Pop precept. So save for a too often tranquil guitar vibe and repetitive riff pattern that lingers a little too long after the point's been made, 'Normal's' actually a densely eclectic masterpiece the second or third go round.