The Wake

Taking a history class? Has your professor just unloaded a monster reading assignment? Well, my friends To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie have the cure for your homework ills: Retire Early EP by this Richmond, VA, duo is stuffed to the gills with image conjuring sounds sure to make your assignment a far more imaginative read. Like experimental, ambience rockers Massive Attack and Portishead before them, they’ve captured a mood conducive to thinking nostalgically upon times far more romantic and violent than those we may be currently stumbling through. The group’s name was drawn from an era of French history. “The name grew gradually from our desire to leave behind that stigma of societal expectation, and become who we are today,” explain band members, comprised of Mark McGee and Jehna Wilhelm. They feel that the Retire Early EP is a big step forward for the band. “This helped us to get signed by Kranky Records, who we’ve begun recording with, due out this fall,” says Wilhelm. “It’s the first true essence of what we’re going to be.”

The Retire Early EP plays like a dream, both in quality and content. Hazy at first as you begin to slip under the mysterious, foreign beauty of Jehna’s voice is like a call to arms with the faintest notion of urgency. The firm grip of Mark’s creative can be heard as early as the first track, “I Box Twenty,” which features whirling wind and the pound of a hammer on steel. The eerie soft stomping of a processor and shrill tension of a modulator prove a perfect backdrop for Wilhelm’s vocals. “Lenard Grey,” which clocks in at six minutes, is like walking alone down a dimly lit path through a forest. You’ll find it peaceful, but the warning keyboard, cooing vocals and drudging bass will start your mind running wild with illusions of unknown danger. Retire Early EP is but a hint of things to come: “If you’re enjoying this EP, and our current sound, you’re going to love our new songs,” assures Wilhem.

I give this EP a 7.9 out of 10 on Carl’s, less harsh than Pitchfork yet more consistent than RollingStone, scale of review. (But it’s a 10 if you’re currently enrolled in World of Rome.)