Another new Dirtnap release! Kind of a hodgepodge EP with four studio tracks and three live ones, all leftovers from last year. These guys first got together playing Undertones covers so 70’s punk is their primary frame of reference. Some power pop influence too. The studio recordings are strong but things really blast off with the live songs. “End of the World” is a brisk, scrappy party anthem, “Last to Know” mines a vein of Velvet Underground, and “Dare” closes things out in revved up, bittersweet fashion. Sounds like they must have put on a pretty good show.
It was only after listening a couple of times that I found out the bummer circumstances surrounding this Chicago band. I knew they had broken up but didn’t know it was because their guitarist, John Glick, had been killed in a car wreck last summer. Seems a young suicidal woman slammed into the car he was stopped in while at an intersection. I remember hearing about the accident because Silkworm drummer Michael Dahlquist and Doug Meis of The Dials were also killed.
Well the only possible good news to come from the incident is that The Returnables left behind some sonic documents for us to enjoy. There are three tracks at Myspace to sample. The download buttons are activated but unfortunately the links are broken. You can grab “What Would Mother Say?” from their new release at the Dirtnap site. And of course the whole thing is available at eMusic. I should also mention that proceeds of The Returnables go to the John Glick Memorial Fund.