The Ergs!'s newest attempt to become the Tupac of pop-punk invests itself in this split 7" with the Measure [SA]. Or maybe you can call it the Mikey Erg vanity project EP. I'll call it some of the best pop-punk tunes to emerge last year either way.

The Ergs! contribute a double shot, per the usual of these splits. "Dullards and Dreadful Prose" has a soft jangly vibe for most of its course before getting a teency bit aggressive toward its end. It's exactly the style of nerdy, spiky pop-punk you love to hear from the band, though, with Mikey using tricky wordplay to serve an indictment of the uncomfortable dichotomy of science and religion ("You'd gas a killer based on forensics / But the age of the Earth is off limits"). The other, "Encyclopedia Self-Destructica" is a somewhat somber solo shot from Mikey played on an electric guitar through a seemingly broken amp.

The Measure [SA] start "Workage" more subtly than the tilt most of their material tends to bound through, and spreads this more thoughtful timbre of guitar chords throughout the song. If it wasn't for the wispiness provided by Lauren Measure's voice and the more open, carefree feeling, I'd almost make a '90s emo comparison. It's a nice approach for them that gives a lot more emphasis to dynamism than we usually hear from the band--the :41 "Get It Together," the band's other song here, provides an excellent example. It's decent, but if you have it on as background you barely remember playing it through.