the Playthings - "demo mode ep"
Independent release


The last time I reviewed The Playthings, (The Black & White EP), I said that I wanted more, dammit. Finally, they've delivered.

Having relocated from Lawrence to Austin, the band seems to have pulled together even tighter than before and with demo mode, they deliver a five song EP that does a fabulous job of doing pop-rock-punk-new wave without seeming a kitchsy mish-mash.

The second offering from The Playthings now features Matt Patterson, formerly of Fear and Whiskey on drums (interestingly enough, Matt playing drums, and Kenny playing guitar is a switch from their old bands). His drumwork does a great job of bringing a bit more focus to the band.

The songs are all incredibly tight, ctachy pieces of work, and while being incredibly diverse, still work as an album. "Dumpster Diver" is a rockabilly meets new wave number that pumps along with a herky-jerky guitar rhythm to make you pogo your littl heart out, while "Avon Nova" is a tribute to Paulina Porizcova (wife of the Cars’ Ric Ocasek) with a pounding bassbeat. "The Masses Are Asses(ed)" is totally new wave and catchy as hell.

All in all, this album is a killer continuation of their previous EP... put them together and you have a great full-length album. If the Playthings can continue to put out regularly great EPs like this every year and a half, I will take that over a half-crap album any day.