A few months ago I reviewed the Superdrag tour EP "Greetings FromTennessee", and I commented on how little I liked the release becauseit seemed like the songwriting had slipped. It seemed only die-hardfans could appreciate the EP, as the mixes were not great, and thesongs weren't the hard-hitting strength one would expect fromSuperdrag. Well, Superdrag released this split tour EP with TheAnniversary shortly after "Greetings", and two of their tracks werealso on that release, so I held off. Until I heard recently that theband had rerecorded those tracks and mixed them themselves specificallyfor this release. In fact, all tracks were recorded just for thisrelease, and although I'd never heard The Anniversary, I took a chance.I'm glad I did. Not only are the Superdrag tracks much better here, TheAnniversary are happily a band I am pleased to recommend. They are abit complex, The Anniversary. Shuffling styles and identities on thefly, the only constant being the powerful vocal harmonies, TheAnniversary have the sound of a band that's never happy with onedirection, and that's just fine. Hastily written and recorded, as theliner notes announce, these tracks are psychedelic power pop, speakingof redemption and strength in numbers. There's even a humorous momenton the second track, 'Anais', where an aborted start is ridiculed byall involved. Funny stuff. As for the Superdrag tracks, they definitelyredeem themselves and reclaim the tracks, as they are much morepowerful and, for lack of a better term, crunchy here. You can tellthat they wanted to get the power of these songs across better, andthat John Davis wail is back, I'm pleased to announce. And you can hearall of the instruments well, which is always a plus. The double-trackedvocals on 'Take Your Spectre Away', originally a track the band wasworking on for their sophomore album, are a nice touch, as they justdrive the band to a complete frenzy towards the end of the track.There's one new one here, 'I Guess It's American,' and it's classicSuperdrag: poppy, angry guitar, and Davis singing about what's wrongwith this system. "If you ever pull that shit again/Never see you thesame way again," says Davis, right before proclaiming "I guess it'sAmerican/it's embarrassin'." Indeed. Here, though, The Anniversary andSuperdrag prove that real American rock is still anything but, and it'sworth it to give these tracks a listen. -
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