Howard Hello EP in Bloomington, MN

In most instances, EPs serve as between-album stopgaps for artists to bring out new material that wouldn't necessarily fit in full-length CD form. This EP serves more as a bridge between 2003's ambitious
Don't Drink His Blood
and whatever is coming next. The melancholy from which the group paints its musical pictures on this EP is of the same palette as
L'Altra
's
Different Days
on
Hefty Records
and labelmate
Eluvium
's atmospheric interludes. The somber, mature opening
"More of the Same"
and the three other cuts found here take
Howard Hello
in a different direction than their previous endeavors, but retain some of the atmospherics and songwriting qualities that originally made the group so impressive. And if the closing
"Even More of the Same"
is any indication of where the group is headed, listeners might expect more laptop vocal treatments and
Baroque
arrangements over gentle beds of acoustic and
electronic
instrumentation. ~ Rob Theakston