"I'm not a vinyl purist. I'm not out there waving a flag for the cause of vinyl," Reis says. "But in terms of listening, a seven-inch has a certain advantage. You drop the needle, turn it all the way up and get a quick blast, a quick fix."
But before drawing any conclusions about this band's ability to carry a recording farther than a 45, consider that its latest, Circa Now!, is a polished, pulverizing gem. Often compared to Nirvana's Bleach, the new album is still rough around the edges, but the band's songwriting, arrangements and playing have all improved. The vocals are up in the mix. Most telling of all, though, are the hints of a shy, pop sensibility that show through in tunes like "Ditch Digger." Is this a sign of creeping commercialism? An easing of the assaultive punk approach? A palatable compromise to the punk/major-label contradictions?
"I'm not ashamed of it, but not a lot of time went into our first record," Reis says. "On the new one, it's a balance. It had a lot of thought put into it and, by the same token, no thought went into it. Do you know what I mean?
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