To Go Home
"Stopgap" EPs tend to be strictly for fans--seeing as they're released in-between albums with one song you already have and a few you don't, (and one of the new songs will likely later appear on the new album) it can be tough to recommend them. But this here is one splendid release despite its mere fourteen and a half minutes; or maybe we should say because of then? The centerpiece is of course "To Go Home," one of the best songs from thePost Waralbum, a cover of the Daniel Johnston tune featuring Neko Case. Ward's version almost improves on the original by making it a mid-tempo rocker (a great rarity for Daniel covers, the majority of which are exercises in an annoying, "gee this crazy guy's songs sure sound better when played by me in my fancy studio don't they" pedantry). The EP's other cover, Jimmy Dale Gilmore's "Headed for a Fall," with Nels Cline and Neko joining in, is further proof that the smoky-voiced, bleary-eyed strummer never sounds better than when aided and abetted by a large ensemble. "Cosmopolitan Pap" is a sweet little honky-tonk genre exercise, while "Human Punching Bag" is a lovely, melancholic, piano-driven number with lots of echo on the drums and vocals. It sounds veryBasement Tapes-y and it nicely rounds out this eclectic, smart little record.--Mike McGonigal