Review Summary: While channeling both "Augment" and "Impulse," ERRA craft a solid, if safe, EP.
After crafting 2 impeccable albums, and the loss of Garrison Lee as lead vocalist, it was hard to see how the band would go forward. Would they try something different or keep to the sounds that gave them success on Impulse and Augment? Who could they possibly find to fill Garrison's large shoes? The answer here is that by playing it safe, they bring both the raw energy found on Impulse together with the cohesiveness of Augment and craft a solid EP.
The beginning track and single, "Dreamcatcher," begins with a soft interlude of what sounds to be either some sort of xylophone or harps. While this sounds odd on paper, it creates an atmosphere to the song that it would have lacked otherwise. After this soft interlude, the guitars kick in and the sound heard from Augment is readily apparent. Instead of being the highlight of previous albums, the guitars have taken a backseat this time around, more laying the foundation for vocalists Eubanks and Cash to take the spotlight. Gone are the intricacies in the guitars found on songs like "Alpha Seed" and "Dreamwalkers" and are instead replaced by djenty riffs. Even with the more simple approach this time around, there are still gems of greatness.
The drums, much like the guitars, have taken a more simplistic approach this time around. Ballew keeps things to a slower pace but still shows adeptness with what he does. Songs like "Moments of Clarity" and "Warrior" showcase why he is still one of the best drummers around.
Now of course the big question: how does the new vocalist hold up? Ian Eubanks holds up the legacy of Garrison Lee fairly well. His growls and roars are a bit meatier than Garrison's and work a bit better for the feel of this EP and style. Overall, it isn't something the listener might pick up on right away unless they have heard a lot of the band's previous works. What Eubanks doesn't seem to show here, and what the album itself is missing, are some of the more hardcore style yells and shrieks that Garrison implemented so well. We only hear Eubanks use a bit of range on one song, "Lights City," which happens to be the best song because of this change of pitch near the end. Also gone are Garrison's speedy, almost rap like delivery at times. Eubanks doesn't ever seem to change the pace at which he says the lyics, which can make some of the songs, while good, drag on a bit.
On the singing front, Jesse Cash once again delivers. Showcasing his ability as a singer, Cash utilizes the full range of his voice here. With the lyrics also being penned mostly by him, those are as strong as ever, with underlying themes of how we treat the world around us and an almost Godlike view of mother nature hidden inside the complexities of the words ("Nurtured by the spirits of the wilderness; the only mother we have left. She is the web in the willow hoop.")
The band as a whole however are at the top of their game once again. "Lights City", "Moments of Clarity", and the single "Dreamcatcher" are certainly highlights from the album. "Dreamcatcher" has a nice variation in instrumentation with its use of the softer instruments described at the beginning of the review. "Moments of Clarity" has some excellent sung gang vocals which add atmosphere to the song and create for an excellent ending. "Lights City" draws from the days of Impulse with the raw energy showcased in the vocals and instrumentation.
One of the biggest problems that I have with this album is it's lack of different song structure from song to song. You won't find any complexities to the songs most of the time, and they follow the typical "verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus" structure. This wouldn't be as much of an issue if it felt as though Jesse Cash came in to sing at proper times. The places that he comes in to sing don't really need to be there and the flow would have benefited without the odd placement of these sung verses.
Another thing that is readily apparent after a few listens is their reliance upon some sort of guitar solo near the ending of the song. These aren't executed badly, but their seeming appearance on every song struck me as being a bit excessive.
At the end of the day, ERRA have crafted a solid if safe EP. Fans of ERRA won't be disappointed and those who already didn't like them won't be changing their mind from this EP. It will be interesting to see where the band as a whole decide to go from here.
