The Casket Lottery

Smoke and Mirrors (2004)

Aubin Paul

It's very unfortunate that this review of the most recent Casket Lottery EP Smoke and Mirrors might also have
to be a eulogy.

After a series
of full length critical accomplishments in the form of Choose Bronze, Moving Mountains and Survival is for Cowards,
and collaborative splits with the likes of Small Brown Bike (their version of "Under Pressure" is probably the most
progressive yet faithful cover I can recall) the band plans to retire and will leave us without their synthesis of melodic emotional
rock and unconventional songwriting. The band has already hinted that their recent tour will be
their last, and considering how much I love this band, that makes this incredible EP all the more bittersweet.

A mere four songs spanning less than twenty minutes, in most hands, this would be a teaser. But thanks to the accomplished abilities
of Ellis and Hilt - both formerly of Coalesce -it comes across as more epic than any twenty minute disc could have been. The opener,
"Come Sweet Revenge" definitely works from the "sound" the band has pioneered since Choose Bronze, but
has some of the most powerful vocal delivery yet. The second track however, is arguably one of the best songs the band has ever written.
Though the ringing guitars brought me back to the first track from Moving Mountains, "On the Air" takes the
sound to the most accessible and creative peaks the band has reached. A lyrical indictment of souless mainstream music should be
trite coming from any other independent band but is handled with such delicate and deliberate emotion, not to mention the irony
of such an accessible track discussing the topic.

The following two tracks don't quite reach the fevered peaks of "On the Air", but
instead move into completely different directions. The first of the two beginning with ambient echos and then drawing back to the earliest
recordings of the band. The final track begins sounding like the Get Up Kids, but then moves into uncharted territory, a nice surprise
from a band that was able to deliver them consistently throughout their career.

Far too many people have missed the Casket Lottery while they were still recording, and we can only hope that the band continues in
the pattern of their previous band and spends the next five years getting back together again and again. But in the meantime, we're left
with a rich history; music that is both angular and melodic, compositions so complex and aggressive yet emotional and soothing. If this
is the last we hear from the Casket Lottery, then they've certainly left on top.