The 3 EPs: The A.V. Club reviews new EPs from Tiger Bones, Milano, and Glittermouse

Milano, Gloria EP
“A Day Is Gonna Come,” the raucous first track off of Milano’s latest EP Gloria, is, in a word, exciting. It’s refreshing to hear a young band capable of producing a sound big enough to warrant being a six-piece, and throughout the remainder of the EP, it’s Milano’s more grandiose and loud moments that make them unstoppable.

Singer/keyboardist Jon Guerra is something special, with the vocal range and musical chops to take the manic gypsy swing of songs like “So What?!” and “Come On, Come On” past Gogol Bordello comparisons and give the band its own catchy, signature sound.

However, it’s the album’s title track that is its most impressive. On “Gloria,” the band’s violin section swells to an orchestral climax that supports Guerra’s voice while not overwhelming it. Whether the band is aiming for spazzy weirdness or anthemic polished pop, Milano doesn’t disappoint. Who knows? The band’s confident musicianship and songwriting abilities could make it Chicago’s next big thing.

Milano plays tonight at Martyrs’

Milano - Zombie World from Wonderkind Studios on Vimeo.

Glittermouse, Signs Of Life EP
A name like Glittermouse might conjure up images of disco balls and electronic musicians with a flair for fashion. Instead, Glittermouse leans more toward The New Pornographers than New Young Pony Club on the band’s first EP.

Glittermouse is all about fun; don’t expect much in the line of angst or self-loathing. The four songs on Signs Of Life are brimming with the sort of inoffensive, bouncy pop-rock that lends itself to group sing-a-longs. The male and female vocal delivery on each track causes the listener to imagine the band’s members smiling through the recording session.

The EP’s opener, “(They Have) Real Sugar (in Seattle),” sounds a bit like Lawrence, Kansas emo-pop group The Anniversary, complete with palm-muted guitars and sudden tempo changes. The EP’s standout track, “Please Not Pulsars,” hints at the band’s untapped potential with a simple keyboard melody, smooth vocals, and soaring delayed guitar effect. Glittermouse is at its best when it adopts a more straightforward approach the the songwriting.

Glittermouse plays April 1 at the Viaduct Theatre

Glittermouse - Signs of Life EP: Infomercial from glittermouse on Vimeo.

Tiger Bones, Go Over Here EP
It’s nothing new for a band in today’s indie scene to sound like Joy Division. What is new, or at least refreshing, is a band that manages to do it in a way that doesn’t make a listener just want to go and listen to actual Joy Division.

Chicago’s Tiger Bones, luckily, manage to do just that on their new EP, Go Over Here. They turn the dark and morose into jangly pop hits with just a few twists of knobs and a driving drum beat. Neu! would be proud, in that sense.

The EP’s opener, “Kill Them,” is gloriously underproduced, but still clean and crisp, unlike so much of today’s lo-fi fuzz insanity. The band even manages to pull off a real-life mash-up of Joy Division and Harry Nilsson as a record closer, and that’s just plain impressive. It’s no wonder these guys have been making some pretty decent noise around town, and that their upcoming full-length, while released on their own label, Dedd Foxx, will be distributed by Matador Records.

021 Tiger Bones from Kyle Obriot on Vimeo.