Alkaline Trio/Hot Water Music

Listeners will be sold on this EP; Hot Water Music's "God Deciding" is one of their best songs to date. Those guys are in such an incredible groove of solid releases right now that even their covers rank heads above most other rock or punk records out there. "God Deciding" features some of George Rebelo's best drumming to date and a frenzied chorus that will have the kids jumping around their rooms. "Russian Roulette" begins with an acoustic part and then expands into a punchy bridge and sparse chorus -- also very energetic. Hot Water Music's covers of two Alkaline Trio songs rank among the quietest songs that they have attempted. The acoustic version of "Bleeder" (a fantastic tune to begin with) is amazing. Alkaline Trio also drop three songs on here. The first, "Queen of Pain," is one of their best, proving that they are one of the best bands at tapping into the heart of relationships, which for the majority of Alkaline Trio songs means dysfunctional relationships. Their second tune, "While You're Waiting," consists of pretty good slabs of their morose punk-pop and a cover of the stellar Hot Water Music tune "Rooftops," which is given a pretty subdued, yet poppy treatment. ~ Kevin S. Hoskins