90 Day Men Too Late or Too Dead + 2

I have no idea who 90 Day Men are, and I don't care. I got this 11 minute, 3-track EP without a press release, and it doesn't matter in the slightest; to you, me, or anyone except their parents, possibly.

I usually research something about any band I review, but fuck it: at the end of the day, what is it going to tell me? That one of them used to be in something else? That they have an impeccable musical heritage? That they're three 10-year-olds who made their own instruments out of balsa wood and sheep guts? I guess I could steal some adjectives from the PR company: that might save me some time thinking about what to say about their cinematic, slow-burning blend of urgent piano and wavering vocal melodies; maybe I could harvest some subliminal influences from the good press their new album has received, but none of that matters too much.

The cover is beautiful, the music within is imbued with the same urgency as Slint and (the unfortunately named) Bitch Magnet, and the whole package contains 'serious', masculine, emotional crescendos, albeit all too briefly. If you like that kind of thing, buy it. If you don't, don't. I'd buy their album if I had money to burn, and I'd probably buy Too Late or Too Dead + 2 if I didn't have it in front of me. Which is a recommendation, of sorts...