Bands release eps for several reasons: as a dumping ground
for unused ideas, a repository of odds and sods that didn’t fit elsewhere, a
way to experiment outside their sound, or simply as a means of reconnecting and
re-energizing. “No Fun Intended”, the
new ep from Minneapolitan stalwarts Soul Asylum, almost certainly falls into
this last category. Weathering the loss
of founding guitarist Dan Murphy (and the “defection” of late-period bassist
Tommy Stinson to some other nobody Twin Cities combo :) ), Asylum mainman Dave Pirner
decided to kick out the jams on three covers and attempt to breathe new life
into the band, and he does so with gusto.
The take on “Attacking the Beat” by early Minneapolis
compatriots Suicide Commandos bristles with the same nervous energy as the
original and adds a nice slide counterpoint.
Pirner’s vocals have aged nicely giving his delivery a deeper gravelly edge,
and he snarls his way through the 90 second blitzkrieg. Does anyone need another note-perfect take on
Joy Division’s seminal “Love Will Tear Us Apart”? Probably not, but it’s nice to hear the band
stretch out into an area of post-punk that their fans may be largely unfamiliar
with. The real gem, though, is the
concluding cover of the MC5’s “Shakin’ Street” from their unfairly overlooked
second album “Back in the USA”. Sounding
like the bastard sons of Petty’s Heartbreakers, the band tears into the song
with enough bite and jangle to give the original a run for its money.
After the crafted beauty of last year’s “Delayed Reaction”,
it’s nice to see the band play fast and loose with some classics, and the sense
of fun is palpable. Reportedly one in a
series of eps, “No Fun Intended” (pun-filled title aside) shows a band getting
its groove back and enjoying a new lease on life.
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