Julie, ETC. is the debut EP from an Atlanta band called Sharks and Minnows.

Having said that, i know what you are thinking, and no, they do not have ungodly amounts of reverb. Nor are they a punk/country fusion band. Nor are they a bunch of totally wasted hard rockers trying to recreate Keith Richards lifestyle from the 1970's. (If you are wondering why i link you to that particular review, read about The Tom Collins.) Nor are Sharks and Minnows a hip-hop band.

They are a post-punk pop band, which makes them a real anomally in Atlanta, home of reverb, the Redneck Underground, hard rockers, and hip-hop. Sharks and Minnows totally do not fit in with any of the local bands i go see every so often.

And i like them for that. They bring a breath of fresh air to this city.

You see, their music is reminiscent of early stuff from The Dismemberment Plan. There is emotion and over-education and a middle class suburban punk upbringing all swirling together with pop sensibilities and a complete lack of production value. Tracers says that midwesterners call this "emo", so i guess that's what it is. And i thought that "Emo" was an annoying stand-up comic from the '80's, but there you go. I guess, then, that i like emo. Who knew?

Okay, attempts at labelling aside, this is a solid debut EP. Like all debuts, it suffers from the bad habit of placing the vocals wayyyy up in front of the rest of the sound. But it really could be worse. The EP almost sounds balanced. On the whole, it could benefit from better production, but that's to be expected of an indie debut.

I would say that this is an EP of good, underproduced pop punk. It shows a lot of potential. The lyrics are okay. The guitars are crunchy and blaring. The bass is loud. The drums are destroyed in the process of recording. Yeah baby, that's what underproduced local punk rawk should be! Woo hoo!!!

I like all five of the songs, but track 3, Miracle is the real standout of the disc. It's starts off louder and angrier than the others. And then, suddenly, the voice is still loud, but it's SINGING and not YELLING. A really nice effect on a really nice bouncey song that just gets yours toes tapping.

I am impressed. I look forward to seeing this band develop. In time, i think that they could be a really good pop band.