Well, it was only a matter of time that the other 2/3s of the Alkaline Trio did split CDs, as Matt Skiba's split with Kevin Seconds came out on Asian Man a month ago. Little did anyone suspect that former Trio drummer Mike Felumlee would be doing a split *with* Trio bassist Dan Andriano - apparently the bad blood within the band is contained between Mike and Matt [so the rumor goes]. But anyways, enough drama, onto the music:

Mike and Dan each contribute three "solo" songs, but whereas on Skiba's split he played all instruments, Mike and Dan share responsibilities. Eli Caterer [of Smoking Popes/Duvall fame] backs up Mike on his three cuts, the slow "Something Better" [this could've been heard on "My So Called Life" back in the mid-nineties], the punkish "Sunshine" [a harkoning back to Mike's Smoking Popes days if I ever heard one], and "As Long As We're Here" [the best drummer-penned ballad since KISS's "Beth"]. Felumlee's contributions to this split are lightyears ahead of his solo album that came out earlier this year, as it seems like both his songwriting chops and his musical abilities have advanced plenty. One thumb up to to Mike's half of the split, now on to Danny's contributions.

Dan's three songs, all backed by former Slapstick and Tuesday bandmate Rob Kellenberger on drums, kick off with "Way Too Many," a slow, Tuesday-esque diddy which Andriano croons his way through. The harmonized chorus of "Woooooooooooah" is just killer, and shows me who the real singing talent is in the Alkaline Trio. This song is the spicy jam of the CD thus far. Next up is "Lucky Smoke Rings," which is also very Tuesday-esque [sensing a pattern here?], and, while slower and simpler musically than I would like, it's still a good track and helps prove Andriano as someone who could theoretically go on a successful solo career [unlike Skiba's mediocre contributions to his split CD]. The CD finishes up with Dan and Rob re-doing Tuesday's "Let The Stars Play" [hell, he wrote it, I guess he can do whatever he wants] and speeding the hell out of it. This song sounds great on the "Freewheelin'" LP as a slow acoustic waltz, but it sounds even better as a less-than-2-minute romp though all the ideas in Danny's emotional-pop-punk bag of tricks. It ends the EP on a bang, and proves to me that Dan's songwriting abilites have yet to fade.

All in all, this is an EP documenting two of Chicago's most well-known musicians, and is most definitely worth your hard earned cash [for the Tuesday cover alone, if nothing else].

MP3s
Mike Felumlee - Sunshine
Dan Andriano - Let The Stars Play