Review Summary: An enjoyable, if unpredictable first EP.
Pigs in Wigs
See them dig
Lose a leg cuz the game is rigged
I wish the winning hand was mine
But I don't really mind
Unwilling Organ are an experimental psychedelic band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They've gained notoriety in Halifax underground circles for their secrecy, intricate live shows, and tendency to change their name for gigs just for the sake of distancing fans. In July they released their first EP, My Second Favourite Organ to confused applause. The obscurity and ambiguity of their lyrics combined with the odd vocal modification and dreamy sound gave them a name and gained them some lovers and haters. I fall somewhere in the middle. It's a good EP, just a few overproduced parts away from great that shows a band finding their voice.
The "trip" begins with "I Don't Really Mind", a confusing and cheerfully dreary two and a half minute piece. A computer-edited voice speaks about generally giving up. The guitar saves this one; an arguably bad concept is turned into a great song because of the clever pacing and effects. The song ends with a great guitar interlude and repetition of the word "Colors". Call it cliche, but it fits the song, instrumentation, and overall the band. I would call it the best song on the EP, but definitely not the only one worth listening to. Most of them are worth it. But some of them are not. Welcome to "Pear Shaped Tears" and "Sing a Song of Chitons". I can't figure out these songs for the life of me. The former seems to be a parody of sorts on pop-rock, and it might be if it didn't try so hard to be different. The high voice echoes through a dense, murky layer of out-of-rhythm guitar singing about typical angsty pop themes (on purpose I think) and then turns itself into a rant about how hard it is to be an apple.
"Its 2 in the morning and I cant get to sleep
I spend my life trying to make ends meet
But somehow I always meet
Some new kind of resistance
So Give me some distance"
turns into this
"I can be turned into stairs
You can make a rocking chair
Or you can keep me alive
As a pear in disguise
Lumberjacks I despise"
The ending again is alright, but the whole thing is too random to be enjoyable and not random enough to be clever (think Syd Barrett's Word Song). "Sing a Song of Chitons" should not be listened to by anyone by any means. It's a worthless 2 and a half minutes overdrive guitar song matched with a spoken description of the sea creature the chiton. If I had to use one some to summarize this EP, I'd use "The Window of Copyright". Incomprehensible, but glorious to listen to, this song encapsulates where this band seems to be going. As usual the guitar is well done and it doesn't overstay its welcome at only 1:02. Personal Liver has great instrumentation, and the voice is really cool and atmospherically echoed. It gets more interesting as it goes on with a guitar riff reminiscent of Zeppelin and some reverb-y guitar in the middle. Overall definitely worth a listen.
Playmate is a throwaway, presumably joke song about inviting a child to play and kill with knives and sharp objects, and apparently wooden spoons. It's good for a laugh, but I'm pretty sure this was just a joke.
Unwilling Organ is a really interesting band with great potential. This EP is great, and having seen them live (as Revolver>Nova incidentally) they're heading in a good direction. With a couple exceptions song-wise, you should look this up.
