I may have broken one of my own cardinal music rules in listening to this EP, but it was worth it. As the rule states: “no listening to EPs from album-less bands.” It’s a good rule. If the band is worth knowing, then their debut LP will be worth the wait. But about 30 seconds into the video for “How’m I Gonna Get Back Home”, I was in love with this band. The group looked so much like the band of misfits from Cold Mountain that I had to carefully scan all the faces to make sure Jack White wasn’t hiding in there somewhere. (And with that band name? Come on). I was a little shocked to discover this fanciful costumery was not the permanent stage fare, but I guess that might be a little much. As a White Stripes fan, obviously I don’t mind a little pretentious pageantry. The outfits, the cello, fiddle, mandolin and mic’d up tap dancer were enough to convince me that, even in my infinite wisdom, there are exceptions to every rule.

Now, I have my misgivings about what an LP from this band is going to look like, but that’s what I like about the EP. Rather than filling me with wild ideas about Voxtrot taking the nation by storm, this particular EP is indicative of a band not quite ready for a long play. For an EP, seven tracks is pretty long, even with the last track under a minute. It’s long enough to take this group a little out of their comfort zone…or maybe just mine. If the EP ended after three tracks, I would be dying to hear an album, but at least I would have vindicated my rule. What is most troubling to me about almost every track after the first two is, just what the hell happened to the tap dancer? You’re not gonna overplay that hand, guys. We’re three albums deep into Tilly and the Wall’s discography, and I’ll let you know when I get tired of them. It was all I could do for the rest of this EP to stop mentally plotting tap lines and just focus on what was there. It can’t be just me, right?

My own personal niche (perhaps) aside, there aren’t any glaring flaws. “The House That Isn’t Mine” is a bit of a throwaway, but the rest just needs a little fine-tuning. “Tales That I Tell” leads off with, certainly one of my top five least favorite song categories, the tougher’n spit empowered countrywoman anthem. The reason I hate this category though, has little to do with this track. It’s mostly animosity for what radio country churns out of every female country singer. Your Loretta Lynns of the world can back it up, but most of the time, it’s garbage. Rachel Kolar isn’t taking Louisville Sluggers to any headlights; her grit is more in the spirit of Karen O or Allison Mosshart. These tales aren’t overly dramatic, and they certainly aren’t self-glorification. They’re the tales of a woman with a long, successful career of picking the wrong guys. “How’m I Gonna Get Back Home” explains some of the reason for bad decision-making with a spot-on ode to the blackout. Lauren Brown’s tapping adds so much to these two tracks, and I just know that “Lazy Daze” would be a much better track with it. This is the vocal performance that really made me start thinking about Rachel in an Allison Mosshart kinda way. The track’s finale is a chorus that almost seems lifted from a Kills song, and it just begs for a stomping accompaniment.

“Coattails” is a statement that Brown could never replace Felipe Ceballos as the rhythm section, but even the small touch here really sets the sound of this band apart. The strange chord progression of this 12 bar blues gem behind the throaty drawl of Robert Kolar is also a major factor in the successful songs for this group. “Moonage Daydream” was a good idea, but it’s too much like Bowie’s. It doesn’t really fit, and I’m glad they left it for an EP. They may be unknown for now, but it’s hard to imagine it will stay that way. I am excited for an LP, but it’s a cautious optimism. If these siblings inexplicably choose the laid back countrified glam direction for their sound, then we’re in for a boring debut. But something tells me that nothing this promising young collective puts out will be boring.

Track List:

1. Tales That I Tell
2. How’m I Gonna Get Back Home
3. Lazy Daze
4. Moonage Daydream
5. The House That Isn’t Mine
6. Coattails
7. Extra