Odonis Odonis

When Dean Tzenos dropped Odonis Odonis's debut, Hollandaze, back in 2011, he promised that a second record would follow just months later. That album never materialized (although demos are circling around online, if you're curious); instead we get this six-song EP to hold us over. Ditching that second album (which was recorded before Hollandaze) appears to have been the right move, as Better takes the sonic template set out on Odonis Odonis's debut and betters it (hence the title?). There's still plenty of noise washing over the Jesus and Mary Chain meets surf-rock-inspired tracks (see the pummelling "Robot Surfer"), but it's noise with a purpose. Tzenos is more comfortable letting slinky bass lines and dry drum machine beats stand on their own on songs like "Intelligence" and the funky title track, which has as much in common with Holy Fuck's beat-shaking as '90s noise-rock. If this is the direction Tzenos is headed in, expect big things from the band's follow-up.