Sheer Terror - Spite EP (Reaper)

The first new studio release from Sheer Terror since their 1995 major label album Love Songs for the Unloved is really the recording debut of a new incarnation of the band. Active since last year, this three-song EP finds singer and resident loudmouth Paul Bearer returning to duty with new members Michael De Lorenzo (formerly of Kill Your Idols) on guitar, Jason Carter on bass and Anthony Corallo.

The two songs on side A make it seem as if almost twenty (!) years haven’t gone by since the release of Thanks Fer Nuthin’ as musically, it’s somewhat similar to that record in style. Furthermore, the lyrics are as personal and as brutal as ever, with Bearer pulling no punches on either “Heresy on the Monkey Bars” or “Blue Shadows Will Fall”. This is music for the dejected, lonely, heartbroken and angry.

Interestingly the B-side is a cover of The Old 97s song “Salome” and finds Bearer singing (more reminiscent of his singing style in his other band Joe Coffee) instead of employing his trademark growl. I dig it and it’s admirable to once again see them trying something different, but it’s the two original songs on the A-side that really stand out here.