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Staff IconUnwelcome Guests - The Painter [7 inch] (Cover Artwork)

Unwelcome Guests

The Painter [7 inch] (2008)
Art of the Underground

Reviewer Rating:


Contributed by: Brian
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Published on January 27th 2009


Unwelcome Guests quickly follow their split 7" with Orphan Choir with this four-song 7" dubbed The Painter.

It's generally more of the same riffy Replacements/mid-era Weakerthans/Plan-It-X mashup punk, with a healthy amount of exuberance and energy yet with vocals that somehow sound youthful yet have a certain maturity and slight world-weariness about them.

There's a very analytical tone about the songs, though they keep an upbeat feel intact. "Put Down Your Gun" draws plenty of simile ("Your emotions are like a firework / A big explosion and then they're gone") and metaphor ("I fear this world, it will break you / It will crush you with all of its weight"), while "Everywhere We Go" shifts from optimism in the narrator's self-criticized love life ("We both see we're no good for each other / But I'd like to give it a try") to bigger hopes and dreams ("All I ever wanted was a simple life / Now I have an idea what that might be").

I think I prefer the split material to this a bit, but the closing title track is really well-done and gives some good lyrical/musical contrast. Overall, The Painter seems to be missing some musically emotional depth to match its tone, and even brief moments like such would provide a better dynamic in that sense. Still, not bad stuff whatsoever.

STREAM
Bender
The Painter



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    VincentB (January 27, 2009)

    I've heard two splits (Annie Saunders and Orphan Choir) from this band and their AOTU single. This EP is the best of what I've heard, hands down.

    Lmnndtlgrph (January 27, 2009)

    i think the reviewer is totally underrating this EP. this thing is awesome. and some of the lyrics (of course not those he's mentioned) are incredible.

    also, i wouldn't say that they "quickly" followed the orphan choir split with this, seeing as how the orphan choir split came out just shy of a year ago. considering the length of each of those records, it doesn't seem too quick.

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