Model/Actress

Model/Actress (2006)

Aubin Paul

With former members of Touch and Go all-stars Brainiac, Taang! denizens Bullet La Volta, and second wave emo/hardcore act Chamberlain, there is a fairly significant body of work claimed by the respective members of Model/Actress, and the result is close to what you would hope for: a record drenched in hardcore roots and built on a progressive indie rock foundation. Angular guitars, off-kilter melodies and unpredictable stylistic shifts abound and the EP is refreshingly nonsense-free.

As a first effort, the EP is remarkably promising; opener "Equestrian" is a bass-heavy tribute to Bob Mould's post-Hüsker Dü work, while "Wait, What?" builds up a little more steam with a distorted vocal line and eerie keyboard melody. "Dickory," the third track is overly restrained indie rock, which is both the most conventional and least inspiring track on the EP. The next track is where the band truly shines, "Nodder" a barely restrained piece of fury simultaneously egged on and restrained by the distinctive David Yow of Jesus Lizard. The final track, "Sweep the Day Away" suffers from the same problem as "Dickory;" the band feels like it's holding back unnecessarily and feels like a crescendo waiting to happen, but frustratingly missing.

Overall, the album is certainly a departure for the oft-straightforward Thick Records, but one that is truly promising and on the brink of a spectacular full-length debut.