This review is for the new split EP being released by Gazillion and Sonicate, two St. Paul based bands making an impact with their independant record label, Limerick Records. Each side of the EP contains 4 tracks.

Gazillion opens up their side of the EP, King of the Cats, with the short intro which their set is named after. This track ends with the line "I guess tonight we find out just who's listening." This may be an allusion to the fairly obscure status of the band, who, despite their exclusively Twin Cities based shows, have developed a solid fan base. Building on this track, the next song, Terrified, begins with the same musical part, and like a slow explosion, moves into a powerful ending. However, the musical qualities of these songs are fairly consistent throughout the album, and may get dull for some people, taking the album as a whole. On the other hand, the Gazillion side of the EP as a whole shows an amount of lyrical genius that I have come to expect from the band after hearing their full length album, Best Kept Secret (2006). Overall, I think this is a fine collection of lyrically powerful tracks that seek too, and do well to, provoke thought and emotion.

Sonicate's EP, The Fall, begins with the song On My Way Home, starts slow and pounds itself along, with lead singer Willie Gregory-Bjorklund's voice, reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, straining out the song's title line. From there the set builds into the more Modest Mouse-esque track The Oxygen Drips Away. Already, I can see that the songs will be changing styles, subtlely or fiercely, between all four of the tracks. And indeed it does.

In the final track, Hallelujah, which the band is considering their current single from the set, is without a doubt the most energetic of the songs on the album, beginning with drummer Peter Baker's sticks hitting the edge of a drum, and then exploding into a powerful beat, which had me hooked from the beginning. The song progresses, gaining momentum and feeling, eventually dying into Willie's manic voice, ending the song on a powerful "Hallelujah." And I believe that is also what many of the band's fans in southern MN are saying upon discovery that this album is not only publicly available, but a free download. It has been more than two years since Sonicate's first album, All Good Things (2005) was released. For Sonicate fans that think two years is too long to wait for just 4 tracks, don't worry. They have a new album in the works, supposedly coming out in spring of 2008.

King of the Cats/The Fall is available for free download at www.limerickrecords.com/catalog.htm .

www.gazillionmusic.com

www.sonicate.net

Evan