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These guys infamously survived being arrested and shot with a taser last fall when their Houston show was shut down following a noise complaint. So it’s not surprising that they’ve resurfaced sounding a bit more mellow than usual. This five-song, mainly-acoustic EP — an appetizer to a full-length due in September — is decidedly not as rollicking as their past stuff, but that doesn’t mean it’s lifeless. The first track, ‘Seems Like Home to Me’, has an a capella intro that almost sounds like it’s gearing up to be a hard-driving anthem à la ‘Carry on My Wayward Son’ or ‘Renegade’, but it never quite picks up the pace. The rest of the songs are similarly careful and unhurried, which is mostly a good thing, though no track clocks in under five minutes, and the closer, ‘Linger On’, does, interminably. In ‘Lady’, singer Adam Stephens sounds like he’s wailing from the bottom of a well, repeating phrases to create an echo-like rhythm. The introspective vibe is interesting, but I hope they haven’y become afraid to raise a little hell now and then.
