individually excellent, yet disappointing EP
This is a bit of a disappointment. It's not a disappointment in the way that cream soda is, where its incredibly sweet alluring smell is made a mockery of by the frankly bland taste; it's more of a disappointment in the same manner that the second Matrix film is - still a great film, but less impressive when compared to its groundbreaking forefather.
The forebear that I refer to is their debut album 'Asymmetry Set', which was released in 2002 on Divot Records. To say that this album is 'quite' good would be an understatement in the same league as saying that Pol Pot was a 'bit' nasty, or that Mount Everest is 'fairly' high. Its riotous cacophony of intelligent lyrics, hardcore vocals and Don Caballero style math-rock, with angular guitar lines veering off on impossible tangents before crashing together in discordant symphony, is the musical equivalent of a psychedelic nightmare, and the album has to rate as one of my all-time favourites. The convoluted riffs and time changes can be quite uncomfortable listening at times, and I'm not sure how safe it would be to listen to while driving, as no person alive has enough concentration to simultaneously listen to this and watch the road (no girls, not even you and your apparent 'multi-tasking' abilities), but it is one of those albums that, if you put the effort in, can be an extremely rewarding listening experience.
So where does 'A Direct Approach...' go wrong? Well nowhere really. The screams are still present, as are the passages of spoken word, although they both now take a back seat to urgent, frantic yelps, the kind of which seem to be so popular at the moment, sounding at times like an unhinged Christiansen. BCB pull this off with enough style and flair to prevent them sounding like The Hives or any of their garage-chic contemporaries, but it's the change to their musical side that I feel is an unfortunate step backwards. The complexity of the math element has been lowered from PhD to GCSE level, which on the one hand makes their music more accessible and will undoubtedly appeal to a wider audience, but it also removes the very essence of what made BCB so special in the first place.
Perhaps I'm being overly critical, because as a stand-alone EP 'A Direct Approach...' is of the highest quality. The keyboard-laced 'Static' is a sure-fire dance floor filler, with its irrepressible rhythm guaranteed to inject the dancing shoes of even the most uptight person with a desire to boogie. The nitro-fuelled punk explosion of 'Swallow Feathers Whole' promises to then burn holes in these shoes, meaning that by the time album closer 'Rare As Radium' arrives, you can nurse your blisters while the hypnotic melodies wash over you.
As an introduction to BCB 'A Direct Approach..." will serve you well, but if you loved 'Asymmetry Set' then don't buy this EP expecting the same thing, or you will be similarly disappointed. Love it for what it is, not what you thought it would be.