Mikey Erg / Warren Franklin

Split [EP] (2014)

Mark Little

Who loves split EP releases? This guy! Singles and split EPs are a great way for someone that isn't too familiar with an artist to get quick fix and then decide if they want to investigate it a little further down the line. As a fan of the now—defunct band The Ergs!, I was already aware of Mikey Erg (as well as some of the seemingly thousands of bands that he seems to have been involved with). Never having heard of Warren Franklin & The Founding Fathers, this release seemed like a good time to get familiar.

It's a four—song release with each artist making two contributions: an original and a cover of one of the other's tunes. Erg gives his interpretation of Franklin's "You've Never Heard My Aim is True" first. Referring to the classic Elvis Costello debut, Erg (by way of Franklin's songwriting) chronicles the feelings one has when they just don't see eye to eye with that special someone. Everyone has personal standards when it comes to relationships, and the song makes clear what is important to them. It's a heavy, jangly number, sounding as if it were recorded simply and quickly. His original contribution, "Three Cheers for the Liberty Bell," brings a heavier sound, and dare I say it, a shredding guitar solo. Mikey Erg goes metal? Not quite, but close.

Franklin's original contribution, "Please Return," shows a singer/songwriter in much the same vein as Erg's solo work. It holds the same homegrown appeal as the flipside of the album, with the greatest difference being simply in Franklin's voice. His cover of The Ergs' "See Him Again" (from their 2007 album, Upstairs/Downstairs) remains somewhat true to the original and gives a raucous, uplifting close to the album.

The album art hints that while Franklin is more of the "rugged and rambunctious" of the two ("The Rockford Part"), Erg is more appropriate for "office settings" as "the modern gentleman" ("The Sayreville Slick"). Personal grooming aside, their split EP is great for ears everywhere.