review: Shark Speed -- Education EP

Shark Speed
Education EP
Self-released, 2010

mp3: "Killing Kind"

Here's why I like Shark Speed:
1) that's a good band name. Interesting, but it makes sense. Good names are more than half the battle 2) Not math rock, not pop punk, not emo--but something in those cracks. Old Minus The Bear is the best example for Shark Speed, really I'm at a loss after that. But instead of finding divergent idiosyncrasies to exploit, Shark Speed just pumps those melodies. A giddy and excitable mix, as if Sarah Palin was finally allowed to drill for oil in her backyard.

Their debut album, Sea Sick Music was one of my fav albums of 2009, and this EP is primarily more of the same, except a touch deeper. "Killing Kind" goes a beat too long, but its question provokes--"Are my devils the same as any other man?"--without ever brushing off those who can't hang.

The opener "King of The World" probably sounds dynamic live, something like U2 with an edge (that's not an insult)--the song is grand and self-assured. It's the sound of Joe, Thayne and Jared settling into their identity, like high school kids in rented tuxes after their third hour of prom night.

"Pretend" adds an electronic vice, but it blends it nice, like ordering a smoothie beyond the regular order. Good to see the trumpet make a reappearance here, backed with a requisite distortion as if the whole operation is rocking with the smoothie machine.
Nice EP, nothing fancy, a little richer, good follow-up. Man, my metaphors suck.