Composed of Jesse Michaels (Op Ivy, Big Rig, Common Rider) and San Jose's the Hard Girls, Classics of Love snuck onto the scene last year, releasing the Walking in Shadows EP and playing numerous shows around San Francisco. While Walking in Shadows seemed to be all the best parts of Common Rider with a slightly harder edge, the band ups the old-school ante on Volume 49 of Art of the Underground's Single series.

Side A kicks open the door with "World of the Known," a frantic, almost hardcore screamer that is probably the fiercest thing Michaels or the Hard Girls has ever recorded. Side B cheers things up with "Line Through Your Name." While retaining a dark edge on the lyrics, the song snaps between a tense squeal and sunnier group chorus. But, what's most striking is that on both of the songs, Classics of Love shines in their ability to write a good song at the foundation that would sound good at any speed, instead of playing fast for the sake of playing fast.

The only drawback is that there's no lyric sheet. While Art of the Underground probably keeps the package simple for the sake of uniformity and cost, I'd gladly pay the price of a lyric sheet to see what the band is saying.

With a rumored full-length on the horizon, Classics of Love seem to be leaning more on their hardcore side without sacrificing song composition. More of this? Yes please.