Ink Blot's Cream of the Crop

Sunstorm
Comeongohigher EP
Rough Trade Records

Download an MP3 of Capital Crimes

There are a number of reasons you should by Sunstorm's Comeongohigher EP. Three of those reasons are included here: "High Resolution," "Mojave's Town," and "Simone Say Radio," three songs full of alternately anthemic, groovesome, and rocking moments of exactly the kind you've been waiting for a band to deliver since, oooh, 1997. Coming on a bit like a very early (pre-"the") Verve if they'd had a funky Fender Rhodes player, Sunstorm already have a knack for songwriting that's inventive without being difficult or obscure. They also have a solid groove engine (comically named keyboardist Blake Jordan and "bass cadet" Thien Tan Doan) and a strikingly liquid guitarist in frontman Jerrold Balcolm.

Unfortunately, the best reason to buy this EP is what's not on it. About 2 months ago I got a tip to check out this young Stone Roses-worshipping band from L.A., and so I went to see them play in front of two indie kids and a dog in San Francisco. Not only were they much better (and much less derivative) than I could have hoped, they had a little self-produced CD for sale. That pre-Rough Trade recording rolled by on a much messier, more psychedelic vibe than "Comeongohigher" does; the bad news here is that in an effort to make the title track sound more professional on this "official" release they've sucked some of the energy out of it (goodbye noisy guitars, hello unfortunately stiff drummer).

But the good news is very good indeed: That self-produced CD included two songs that are not on their debut EP for Rough Trade. They are called "Capital Crimes" and "Back Around," and not only are they better than anything on "Comeongohigher," they're as good as anything released by a rock band in the last year. You can check out the former's sinister groove on MP3 above; the latter packs an anthemic wallop reminiscent of Verve's "She's A Superstar," and there are few higher compliments. Do what you can to find a copy: I suggest starting with www.comeongohigher.com.

But there's more - specifically "She Takes Me Up" - a song I (and presumably anyone else) have only heard live on a shitty PA, but haven't stopped telling people about since. If you find it, make sure to send me a copy.

So are these early-20s LA anglophiles so cocky that they kept their three ace cards in the hole despite nabbing an EP deal with the coolest indie label in Britain? Or are they so spoiled for riches that they can confidently save the best for later? It doesn't really matter. You should buy Sunstorm's Comeongohigher EP, because it's the only way to hear this band's music right now. And you need to hear it right now, because no band has shown so much promise so early in a very long time.

For fans of:
Verve A Storm In Heaven
The Charlatans Up to Our Hips
The Stone Roses The Stone Roses

-- Jesse Fahnestock

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