Fake Problems and Ninja Gun have just one song apiece here on this split 7", but they stack up impressively.

FP's "The Manliest of All Men" has what's got to be vocalist/guitarist Chris Farren's most intense, searing vocal delivery to date, only strengthening the dirgy, moderate-to-up-tempo blues pacing of the cut. But it's got a decidedly lighthearted feel despite Farren's seething snarl, practically growling his seemingly sardonic lines.

"Man, it's such a bummer," a lyric in NG's "Time and a Half," is a good way to sum up the song -- but not because it sucks, because it most certainly doesn't. It's just that it's got this shoulder-shruggingly defeatist nature about it, the central character pushing forward even though things seem kinds crappy. I wasn't too into NG's full-length, last year's Restless Rubes, but "Time and a Half" resonates with me well as a lightly punky, alt-country indie rocker that reminds me of the brighter moments from Limbeck's Hi, Everything's Great.

All in all, a clear 7" wrapped in a silk-screened cover that, albeit in need of a lyric sheet, comes on the brink of greatness, and it's probably a good pickup for even fairweather fans.

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Ninja Gun - Time and a Half