Paper and Plastick Records
Feb. 14, 2011
Rating: 5/5
Just in time for Valentine's Day, here's the first official solo release by Mike Yannich, or known more commonly as the one and only Mikey Erg! How am I reviewing this only one day after the release date?! No, I didn't get a press release in advance. Nope, didn't Mediafire it either. Paper and Plastick does this awesome thing where if you buy a record from its website, you get an instant download with your receipt, sent to your e-mail address. Same thing as the download code, only you don't have to go fishing through the album's sleeve to enter any annoying code. Plus it's instant. Way cooler. Way better. And I can download it more than once if I want to. This may just be as good as it gets. Enough gushing about Paper and Plastick - time for the heart-on Mikey Erg's just unleashed all over the pop punk world.
It's a two-song 12'', so 99% of this thing is novelty. Sure, it could have been a 7''. But man, the heart is where it's at. I'll take one song on either side of a 12''.
SIDE A: "Key Of C, Fix It, Fix It, Stop," surprised me. I was expecting acoustic music! There's guitar, drums and bass! And Merg vox! It's a warning tune addressed to a girl only Mikey can pinpoint in his cardio-crosshairs. It's a splurge of emotion; an I-told-ya-so to the girl, kind of loosely reminiscent to the story in "I'm the One" by the Descendents. Mike's the sappier of the two. Mike's the one way more into her than she is into him it seems like. He sings of frustration and pushes for clarity and truth. Is she just not listening? Are they not on the same page? That's the worst fucking thing about relationships - for a while, you think it's great until you realize you're way more into it than she is. And you're just kind of left in that cloud. "Now the moment is gone and I guess you don't remember," Mr. Erg chants to a fade.
SIDE 2: "Little Hands of Concrete." Ah. There's the acoustic guitar. There's bass and drums too. So its not your straightforward rock ensemble. But it is 1:42 of goodness, reminiscent of the stuff he did last year with Marisa Bergquist under the name, Ergquist. It's another tune knee-deep in heartache grits. "I know you're not thinking of me, but it's to pretend that you might be," he sings. I like it because it's not a straight-up sad song, it's kind of an optimistic one. He doesn't seem like he put all his eggs in one basket, and is thus able to reassure himself. I don't know which tune I like more. I guess I'll have to listen to 'em both a whole bunch more times. Order this while you can! I know at least 202 of the 500 pressed are GONE.
100 Black vinyl
300 Red vinyl
100 Gold vinyl
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