Review Summary: A somewhat pointless EP, but good nonetheless.
It probably would be safe to say that the seminal Fair to Midland are a musical Midas of today’s alternative rock scene. Everything they’ve released has been sublime, and even this EP, which comprises of four tracks from
inter.funda.stifle, is still good, if a little pointless. There are some original aspects to it though; ‘Orphan Anthem 86’ and ‘Kyla Cries Cologne’ are demo versions that are slightly different than their polished counterparts, while ‘A Seafarers Knot’ and ‘Abigail’ are live tracks. Listening to the live tracks make the prospect of seeing Fair to Midland live a very good one, although there is a very noticeable difference in Darroh Sudderth’s voice on the live tracks. However, it probably isn’t terribly easy to emulate his studio performances consistently on stage, so it really isn’t fair of me to criticize him for it. Hearing the crowd chant
Gather round while we wait for high tide on ‘A Seafarer’s Knot’ is well worth it anyway. ‘Abigail’ is a moody track, a very melancholic way to finish off the record, but taking note of the band’s extensive song catalogue, I can’t help but feel a better song could’ve been chosen.
In all honesty, this is probably a release only for those dedicated to hearing everything this band puts out. The demos are not better than their later versions, and the live tracks are only good for a novelty purpose. I managed to derive some enjoyment from it, but we’ll pin that down to my overly biased fondness of the band. The songs on here are good, but they’re all available on other releases; the only original aspect of
The Drawn and Quartered EP would be the live tracks. Nevertheless, if a little bit of drool escapes your mouth when you listen to Fair to Midland, it won’t hurt to give this a listen.
