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OFFENSE/DEFENSE EP
(MISERY LOVE CO.)
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Four years after the demise of local indie guys the Sterlings, Patrick Emswiler is back with the Spaceshots. This self-released six-song EP (plus one " hidden " track) offers more-mature songwriting and adds plenty of fuzz guitar and distorted vocals without drowning out the catchy melodies. Emswiler pulled his usual guitarist/singer/songwriter duties as well as playing bass, and he enlisted Pete Caldes on drums. (The line-up now includes fellow Sterling and current Vic Firecracker drummer Ben Hedlund.) Not that they aren’t adept on the slower tracks, but it’s the upbeat rockers where the Spaceshots shine. The poppy and sometimes choppy " The Misery Love Co. " suggests the unadorned vocals and grinding guitar of a Bad Astronaut album with a Cars synth-like guitar interlude for good measure. " The Bombardier " is delivered in a Weezer-esque sing-song, with a falsetto on the pre-chorus lines " Going numb’s getting cumbersome/And the sweetest plum’s yet to come. " The simple acoustic guitar and light harmonies on the mellow " Mr. Moon " bop along somewhere between Satellite Rides–era Old 97’s and Rubber Soul–era Beatles. The subdued, moody " Know It All " unleashes Emswiler’s inner Elliott Smith. And the orchestrated purr of the Spaceshots’ distorted guitar lines and Emswiler’s vocal versatility give the whole a hooky immediacy.
