I have a preference for shorter, tight releases and Translating
the Name is probably one of my favourites in that regard. This is Saosin at
its best - before their self-titled release, and before Anthony Green departed
to Circa Survive, they were a band that was messy, poppy and all around
fantastic. If more post-hardcore was like this, I have no doubt the genre would
be a lot more appreciated.
There's so much happening in nearly every song - they manage
to sound chaotic and yet subdued, an embodiment of the adolescent emotional
contradictions that plague every teenage mind and leads them to write embarrassing
things like this very sentence. Despite the band’s biggest strengths on this EP
being their ability to manage the chaos, the best track on here is probably the
most straight-forward, accessible one, 3rd Measurement in C.
Some of the lyrics on this EP are downright strange, such as
"I have your voice on tape in a Southern accent screaming at me" and “And
I'm sad that you'll be gold upon / gold in my veins / tango with daddy and separate only / smile
my only rights of passage”. It’s difficult to grasp exactly what they mean but
the emotion behind them makes you feel like it doesn’t really matter so much.
The only song on here that doesn't hold my interest much is
the finale, They Perched on Their Stilts, Pointing and Daring Me to Break
Custom. Most of the time when I listen to this EP, I skip this track but
when I give it a chance, I’m reminded of why I do. Most of the song is fairly
simplistic and subdued compared to the rest of the EP. It’s a bit closer to the
sound that future Saosin songs would pursue, and that’s probably why it doesn’t
work all that much for me.
It’s a shame that Anthony Green departed Saosin – as much
as I enjoy Circa Survive, the potential displayed here could have led to
something great. Instead Saosin dumbed down their sound, and they’ve never been
able to capture the magic of this EP even with Anthony’s return.
8 / 10
Highlights: “3rd Measurement in C" and "Translating the Name".
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