Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

The Shortcuts - 30 Pack

Huzzah! As some of you might remember, I really liked the debut album from Minneapolis’s the Shortcuts. It was one of my favorites from last year, and remains so. And now, they’re back with an EP of new material. I was pretty stoked to hear about it. Of course, one proceeds to wonder, will it hold up to the self-titled album?

The answer is a resounding “yes.”

First of all, the EP sounds great. The music is a bit louder and cleaner overall than the self-titled album. According to the liner notes, it was recorded in their practice space, which goes to show that you can record an awesome sounding record just about anywhere with the right knowhow. The cover art is once again by Mitch Clem. The packaging is worth noting: the whole thing is folded up, with a little velcro holding it shut. Upon opening and unfolding, one is greeted with a scene of the band in a barbershop of sorts. Anyway, the whole thing is sweet.

(more…)

The Shortcuts - s/t

I, probably like many people outside Minneapolis, heard of the Shortcuts by way of Mitch Clem, writer/artist behind the punk webcomic Nothing Nice to Say, and artist of many awesome show posters. He’s responsible for the album art, which I find fantastic. Of course, we don’t judge books by their covers, and the same holds true for albums. So do the songs contained herein live up to the album art?

In a word, yes.

(more…)