Many an emo tear was shed when Jake Ewald’s band Modern Baseball suddenly announced a hiatus earlier this year. It’s easy to see why: Modern Baseball were among the finest acts the “emo revival” ever produced. While Ewald himself claims that this hiatus may not be permanent, he’s already keeping himself busy with a new EP from his solo project, Slaughter Beach, Dog.
For those of us suffering from Modern Baseball withdrawal symptoms, Motorcycle.jpg is a godsend. Ewald is on top lyrical form here, mixing the confessional with the surreal, and telling stories that are rich in cinematic imagery. On the song ‘104 Degrees’, lines like “She says she loves this song/turns away and tracks the clouds/the driver curses with conviction/while a heavy metal drummer plays us out” play out like a scene from an indie movie, painting a vivid and gripping picture of an otherwise mundane situation.
Musically, Motorcycle.jpg plays closer to Ewalds lo-fi and folk sensibilities, rather than Modern Baseball’s more overt connections to emo and indie-rock. The EP has a definite Elephant 6 vibe about it, with its soft folk melodies being tempered by sudden blasts of noise. Perhaps this is most evident on the EP’s ultimate track, ‘Building The Ark’. The most straight forward song on the EP, it follows a simple chord progression, before giving way to a noisy, almost surf inspired solo, culminating in a short blast of feedback. Its these textural shifts that give Motorcycle.jpg life beyond its short running time, as they make the EP easily re-listenable.
But is it as good as Modern Baseball? Well, no, the creative spark between Ewald and co-founder Brendan Lukens is hard to replicate. Still, Motorcycle.jpg has more than enough substance to stand on its own two feet, and this EP will keep fans happy until their inevitable reunion.
