Wavering Saints
Collusion EP
( Central District Records ) 2005

Now this is quite good.

I caught myself unable to sleep the other night - wide awake wondering how many glow sticks it might take for a pile of the bastards to be seen from the Moon, and it bothered me more than it should have. So I did the only reasonable thing and made my way into the kitchen to listen - again - to this fine EP from Wavering Saints.. . also known on the West as the Best One-Night-Only Indie Rock Band! With a track on said EP calling herself "Tour The Shit Out Of This Motherfucker" - I'd offer something to see the sextet (holding down locations from Stockton,CA to NYC) together in action.

The cover art has some hidden meaning to the career of Mike Schmidt that I have yet to decipher - much like my issue on the glow stick hypothesis. But the music contained on the cd is just a spectrum of delight. After the (can I say "rock"? I mean, when I think "rock", I see Def Leppard and all that pointless leo-re-tarded shit.. .) upbeat opening of "Subtle Believers" we are given "Strike Date" - a lone anthem that brings to mind home recordings of Lou Barlow and early Zach Rogue. Consisting of distant vocals and a tightly tuned guitar that resembles a crafty mandolin, this is the track that initially told me this Collusion EP was going to keep me repeating these six songs. "Homeless Teeth Transportation" revisits the opening songs upper-tempo structure, pulling in a full band sound that incorporates percussion (mechanical) and a swirl of fuzzy electric guitars.

It's the closer "Magnetic" that seals the beauty in Collusion's offerings - a toned down gem that does as little as she needs to get the job done. A lethargically-strummed guitar is backed by the faintest trumpet a musician can, well, trump - the finest (and certainly under-appreciated) moments from Jeff Martin's incredible group IDAHO come to mind for possible similarities (see: Year After Year).

Git' now - hear the shit out of this motherfucker.

k :: (12.26.05)