Bonus Album Review: And And And, No Party EP (Thing Thing Thing)

In this week's print edition, we reviewed new albums from Brainstorm, the Ocean Floor and Federale, but there's another band putting out a new release this week: And And And, of course. Don't worry, guys. We didn't forget about you. Here is Emilee Booher's review of the band's new EP.

And And And No Party EP (Thing Thing Thing)

[RAUCOUS ROCK] And And And is loved and hated for all the same reasons: It's loud, frenetic, scrappy and continuously cranking out music. Following the five-piece's early 2012 release, Lost, comes this new four-song EP. The crisply recorded opener "The Joy of Cooking" lures with a bold trumpet and guitar hook—one of the catchiest on the album—that quickly leads into Nathan Baumgartner's scratchy, full-bellied voice. From there the record takes a darker, more manic turn, with increasingly growly vocals, bursts of distorted electric guitar and disgruntled lyrical content. Sticking to standard verse-chorus structures, these are the kind of rowdy tracks designed to pry at you until you're either completely sucked in or running the other direction.

WWeek 2015