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Better Than Ezra's mysterious pre-label
release, Surprise has been sought after by fans for years.
Released only on cassette tape and limited to only a few thousand copies,
Surprise is hard to come by. Currently, only one set of
recordings has made it online, and those recordings are pretty poor,
filled with tape his and warped sound. However, Surprise is
a wonderful glimpse into the band's early, raw energy.
Ezra Pound kicks off the album, and is
filled with energy and power, surprising for what was essentially a garage
band. It is easy to see the band matured listening to a variety of rock
from even this one song. Laced with both the feel of the 1980's and 1960's
surfer music, Ezra Pound is a good tune. This flavor of music
continues into CDU, This is the first glimpse of BTE's
potential, as the song embraces intriguing dynamics. While I could listen
to the verses endlessly, CDU's chorus makes for a great bubble-gum
pop song. It does beg the question....what the hell is the CDU?
The instrumental Favorite Blanket
follows with similar style, but Tremble sticks out as the most
memorable track so far. Tremble is a very basic song in structure
and melody, but Better Than Ezra manages very well. Vocalis, Kevin
Griffin, is revealed as having great potential. Wintercoats is a
mellow acoustic tune that feels slightly out of place among the other
songs. While it is interesting, and really not a bad song, the fact it is
out of place creates resistance to the song.
Hold Me Down sticks out as similar to
the overall sound of the album, but
different from the rest of the tracks as well; but is becoming clear of BTE's
potential to be different, even from themeselves. This song's dynamics are incredible, with its
transitions from verse to bridge to chorus being unpredictably perfect.
Unfortunately, Rearranging the Bones sounds like so many other
demos from this era and quickly becomes a bore.
And We're Fine quickly recovers with
another completely different sound. Here in lies the importance of
diversity among your songs, especially on a demo tape. The background
vocals reveal perhaps a hidden inspiration from the popular REM?
Circle of Friends follows, and is a great song. It begins beautifully,
making you wish more songs on the album had the same raw emotional feel.
The song changes, becoming a bit too upbeat but it has an amazing bridge
and is still one of the best songs on the tape.
The next song, Bag of Cobras continues
to reek of 1980's pop, again becoming tiresome quickly. Burning the Map
follows and brings the album back to the energy of the first few tracks.
Devil Girl is begins too similar to the previous track, burning out
the rest of the album relatively quickly.
Overall, Surprise is pretty
decent demo tape, and fans should be aware that is all it is. Normally, I
am not a fan of demo tapes, as they are not representative of a band's
true sound, or even potential. I would only suggest this release for
diehard fans to seek out and enjoy. Apparently, the band feels similarly
as only their favorite songs have seen the light of day. Regardless, I
know Surprise holds a special place in their hearts, as for
all Ezralites.
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