The Great Explainer – “The Way Things Swell” [EP] [Vinyl]

Trenton, New Jersey’s The Great Explainer comes storming through the door to release their debut EP The Way Things Swell, and it’s pretty bangin’; hence the violent, door smashing metaphor. At first, there are a few minutes of worrying that Bystrzycki’s vocals might actually be ripped verbatim from the throat of Polar Bear Club’s Jimmy Statd, but relief soon sets in and you can enjoy the four track EP for what it is.

It ends up being almost identical to a Polar Bear Club record except that The Great Explainer manages to one-up their fellow punk rockers by using two vocalists; if it wasn’t for Matt Vaneekhoven’s clean, melodic vocals, The Way Things Swell would fall off the planet. But it’s a testament to The Great Explainer’s value that they can so closely resemble a similar band and still manage to stand alone with their own sound.

It’s only four songs, but it’s promising. The music is tight and catchy, but not sugarcoated, and the dynamic between Bystrzycki’s harsh delivery and Vaneekhoven’s backing vocals is the necessary hook to keep you interested. The Way Things Swell hasn’t quite made a believer out of me, and it probably won’t make one out of you, but it at least deserves our attention and a concerted effort to keep an eye out for their next release.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Quotas
02. I Finally Found My Dreamboat
03. Codeine…Bourbon
04. Michael Jordon 666

Run Time: 11:56
Release Date: 07.13.2010