The Church – Deadman’s Hand EP (Unorthodox/Second Motion)

If the EPs emanating from the Church‘s excellent Untitled #23 have proven anything, it’s that the band left many of the best tracks it had recorded off of what was already a strong collection. Deadman’s Hand features the title track, of course, one of the catchiest and, paradoxically, noisiest tunes from Untitled. But the songs following it are more than mere outtakes or filler. (Well, maybe the brief instrumental “The Kicker” isn’t a song so much as an extended intro.) “Dakota” and “The Gardener” hang the band’s dreamy psychedelia on strong melodic backbones, while “Stardust” reintroduces its signature jangle on a moody, memorable pop tune. It’s easy to ignore EPs as simply as simply minor adjuncts to an artist’s catalog, fit for little more than satiating the collector’s impulse. But Deadman’s Hand quickly proves itself to be an essential item in the Church’s canon.

http://www.thechurchband.com
http://www.secondmotionrecords.com