Straylight Run have come a long way since their inception five years ago. I won’t go into their history, as I’ve already detailed that in a previous post. As I stated in that post, I was less than impressed by Straylight Run’s second full length The Needles The Space. In retrospect, it wasn’t entirely awful but I knew they were capable of better. That record found the band trying very hard to be different and while they were, it didn’t always translate into good songs. Since the release of that album, the band have parted ways with their label Universal Republic and have parted ways amicably with pianist and sometimes singer Michelle De La Rosa, sister of front man John Nolan. So now the band are without a label and reduced to a three piece but instead of giving up they went into the studio and cranked out an excellent three song EP that gives me high hopes for their future. Un Mas Dos was produced and self released by the band in the form of a digital download as well as a 7” vinyl. I was lucky enough to snag the vinyl when I saw them open for Anberlin a couple a months ago. Even with just three people on stage, the band managed to sound huge and they put on an excellent show. Nolan seems to have remembered how to write hooks on this EP; all three songs are catchy. They are also heavier than anything on The Needles The Space, while still mixing in some great piano parts. The band also branches out with some cool keyboard sounds as well. The intro for “Ten Ton Shoes” is reminiscent of something from an old 8-bit Nintendo game, but it works. “Wait and Watch” is a powerful, though cynical song with it’s chorus “I’m gonna wait and watch the world die.” “Try” is the most lyrically hopeful and musically straightforward of the songs. The only downside of this EP is it’s length but there is no filler here and it makes me look even more forward to Straylight Run’s next full length.Straylight Run - "Try"
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