Big Orange Crayonmusical thingsThe Promise Ring Electric Pink EP Jade Tree Records The Promise Ring have been moving in a poppier and poppier direction for quite a while. This CD more or less continues that trend as a follow-up to Very Emergency, although it is a bit rougher around the edges and it tends to harken back to Nothing Feels Good, especially on "Make Me a Mixtape". That song, by the way, has been intermittenly stuck in my head since I bought this thing. It's just a fun celebration of one of those wonderful little things in life. Unfortunately, due to its title, I can't ever actually put it on a mix tape because it would be too obvious, but I can enjoy it selfishly just the same. As for the other songs, they're all pretty uniquely enjoyable. The title track has a very similar power pop sound to Very Emergency, "Strictly Television" has a criminally catchy chorus, and I'm glad that I can finally listen to "American Girl" which I missed out on previously because I bought the vinyl version of the Boys and Girls EP. Overall, this is a satisfying little injection of pop music while we're all waiting for Davey to get better after his brain surgery. It's not the Promise Ring's best or most satisfying release ever, but it has four pleasant songs and that's what matters, isn't it? Total score: 217 out of 222 |