Milwaukees

Remember back before Jimmy Eat World were mega-selling MTV superstars and writing songs that were more experimental and frankly a lot more interesting? Well Jersey City's the Milwaukees do. Their fourth release is easily their most ambitious to date. Building on the expanded sound of their last EP, which saw the addition of multi-instrumentalist Jeff Nordstedt, front-man Dylan Clark and company have crafted an epic disc that sits somewhere between the swirling post-punk of Dinosaur Jr., the emo pop of Sense Field and the Juliana Theory and prog-tinged rock of Rush. But all the while the songs maintain an overriding melodicism that permeates every track. While the songs themselves are remarkable, credit also must go to producer John Agnello who captures them in all their bipolar grandeur.