New York's Mr. Downstairs made a favorable impression with their previous self-titled effort in 2000 and as such, those who were fortunate enough to experience it have grown quite restless for new material from the group over the past two years. Luckily for them though, the wait is now over as the band have now returned with this impressive 3 song EP which exhibits a wealth of growth and evolution, plus a new direction which handles their ever contrasting mix of driving metal and reckless emotion in a way less predictable fashion.

Vocally the album possesses a unique sense of timing as words are emphatically spoken at unexpected intervals, enlisting curious structures and swirling melodies to establish a placid sense of calm that is generally shattered by gruff screams and aggressive croons and wails. However, despite the somewhat uneasy composition, the verbal aspect of the CD actually tends to flow together quite well, becoming a refreshing vacation from the more standard vocal approaches that saturate the scene of today. Guitar wise, the effort is a bit more traditional in a sense, as driving riffs coated with a gritty distortion collide and careen like menacing snarls of sonic fury organized in a very start / stop styled fashion. The bass playing takes ample note of this and is for the most part just as energetic as its guitar brethren in return, pounding out an abundance of thick grooves underneath the distorted swipes, while ensuring a continual momentum is kept up through powerful lowend shoves. The drumming on the other hand is a bit more consistent throughout the tracks in contrast, a choice which works surprisingly well, establishing a solid, yet invigorated base of sharp beats and hard edged rolls for the songs to become all the more indulgent off of. Still, even though this is the case, there are many moments when the percussion joins in with the rest of the bands more concentrated efforts, employing a few breaks and pauses to give the riffs a way larger impact.

Overall its quite interesting to see the band now able to mix their various different styles into one constant whirlwind of punchy aural expression. The efforts of all members are sharply focused this time around and the grooves are intricately written, with close attention paid to forming a full fledged audio barrage. This definitely helps to set them apart from the pack and with the ever shifting battery of gritty musical expression blazing a wide path for the ambitious vocal stylings, the group are able to really hit upon some refreshing ideas that literally demand the attention of the listener. As such, this effort easily remedies the problems they had on their prior outing where some of the songs seemed to be a bit too drawn out, plus, its good to see that they are able to improve upon their formula and step outside themselves whenever necessary. In fact, there's really little to complain about here aside from the effort only being three tracks long. Sure the music is a bit confrontational and its freeform nature may rub some people the wrong way, but this is expected and really, in a time where the bulk of bands out there are executing cliche commercially oriented song writing structures by the numbers, its quite a welcome change to see a band like this come along and shake things up a bit. In the end, if this only "preconception', one can only eagerly anticipate what this quartet will be creating when they have a full understanding of what it is they're seeking to accomplish.