The Blood Brothers

While at work in the studio on the follow-up to Crimes, the Blood Brothers issued the Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck EP. Using one of Crimes' most accessible tracks as its centerpiece, the EP finds the band once again walking their fine -- but very jagged -- line between anarchic hardcore and flamboyant pop hooks. The album and live versions of "Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck" bookend the set, and the song's mix of rattling percussion, almost-pretty keyboard melodies, and thick, noisy breakdowns (not to mention Johnny Whitney's nails-on-a-chalkboard screech) sound just as asymmetrical and weirdly poppy as ever. A more dynamic take of "Peacock Skeleton with Crushed Feathers," with guest vocals courtesy of A Gun Called Tension's Sean Reveron, and a stripped-down take of "Crimes" flesh out the EP, along with Mike Ott's video for the title track. Die-hard fans will want this for the two new tracks, the hyper-serrated "Ladies and Gentlemen" and murky, brooding "Metronomes," as well as the Blood Brothers remix of the Return the Gift version of Gang of Four's "Anthrax," which snaps the song's angular backbone and reshapes it into stuttering noise-punk. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide