By Surprise - Criteria - 7" (Color Vinyl)

Fakta "Criteria," recorded to analog tape with "Mountain Smashers" producer Dave Downham at Familyre Studios, begins with a blast of feedback, guitars riffing fuzzily, ringing out and pick sliding with some twinkly bits thrown in. The title track features Pat Gartland's off-kilter voice, sometimes terse, sometimes warbly, intoning lines with a directness not audible in past recordings - "Just because I don't open my mouth as much you, doesn't mean that I'm down or out." The three-song offering is familiar without treading old territory, masterfully embracing adulthood while conjuring a sense of youthful splendor; a glimmering self-awareness swirling around every song.