It’s been a while. I haven’t been in the best of moods lately, hense the lack of posts.

Anyway, I was thinking about teaser albums, downloadable tracks and small EPs in the car the other day. I was thinking about how evil they are. These bands put out 4-5 song EPs, or make a few songs available on their PureVolume page, and then make you wait for the full length. You wait, and wait, listening to this EP over and over, and wait some more, still listening to the EP. You really love the EP, and are anxious about the release of this new full length. Their tactics have worked. They have successfully teased. I want more.

There are two possible outcomes to this whole scenario. Outcome one: the full length will be awesome, and the tease and anxiety was worth it. Outcome two: the full length sucks, you are angry, but you still have the EP and its greatness. I’ve had my share of both of these outcomes, and I figured I would share a recent release from each outcome.

Outcome one (good ep, good release): Anadivine. Their self-titled EP was spectacular. I heard a song on a Militia Group sampler, and needed to hear more. They had a 5 or 6 song Ep available, so I bought it. I loved every song; there were even guest vocals by Claudio from Coheed & Cambria. They released their full length, Zoo, a while later and it didn’t disappoint. I wrote about it a few entries ago, saying how much I liked it so I won’t repeat all of that jibberish. I guess the only thing I didn’t like about the new album was where they cut out the screaming/breakdown part in ‘Alcohol and Oxygen‘. They must have cut it because it didn’t really fit in with the rest of the songs on the album. That’s understandable. Other than that, the CD was perfect. I guess my point is that they teased, and they delivered. On the other hand …

Outcome two (good ep, bad release): Straylight Run. Their EP was available on their website for the longest time. I listened to that thing forever. I loved each song, how they were recorded, how the songs were put together, etc. I forget about them for a bit, and then they come in concert. I go watch them at the show, and decide ‘cool, I’ll go buy thier CD’, and I do. Now, I’m not saying it’s a bad CD. If I hadn’t heard their EP I would probably still like this full length, but it’s missing something. It’s not the same Straylight Run I’ve listened to for the past year or however long I’ve had that downloadable EP. They teased, and then they delivered … something else. Oh well, it’s still a good CD. It has some good points, to go with the bad ones, and as I said before — I still have the downloadable EP to listen to.

How’s that? A post with some thought behind it. Amazing.