Downtown/Union- Six Song Super Set

ARTIST: Downtown/Union
ALBUM: Six Song Super Set
LABEL: Self-released
REVIEWER: Matthew J.
DATE: 7-21-08

An up and coming low-fi art rock band from Los Angeles, Downtown/Union are quirky, almost excessively so, but back up their occasional flights into yelping, self-aware eccentricity with solid pop hooks and musical chops. Somewhere between The Pixies and Modest Mouse, they're less deliberately subversive than either; "Do What You Do" opens this EP with a pleasantly bouncing song encouraging relaxation in the face of hardship, sort of like Modest Mouse's "Float On" without the mainstream radio saturation, and "Low Down Dirty Walk" is a crunchy but upbeat take on good old-fashioned American garage rock. "Til You're Home" is a song about missing a loved one, but it's more fun than morose, thanks in part to punk-flavored guitar chords on the chorus, and "Vanward Aye Aye" injects a sense of wistful reminiscence while the major key guitars and yipping vocals keep things upbeat. It's not that Downtown/Union don't occasionally tackle darker, more serious themes, but at its heart this is unapologetically fun rock 'n' roll music; they have fun playing it, from the sound of things, and that makes it fun to listen to.

Visit Downtown/Union on MySpace at www.myspace.com/downtownunion.