AND ANOTHER THING.......

Far from being a very important release for UK heavy rocking crossover-proggers The Reasoning, `And Another Thing...' is just what the title suggests - more of the same from the band, but this is by no means a lackluster release of merely more product. This EP is simply a collection of four pieces, three of which show the band at their most accessible and likeable. It's a fairly safe release, but it perfectly showcases the melodic qualities of singer Rachel Cohen that makes the band so popular. On this release, her vocals are very raw and painfully human, making me wonder if they were recorded live or in one take? I have to say, I very much enjoy hearing her so vulnerable and honest, and would greatly appreciate this more on future releases.

`One By One' is a punchy hard pop/rocker with the highlights being a catchy chorus and some springy bass. `Apophenia' is the best track here, a melancholic powerful ballad with quietly moving piano, a dreamy chorus and a shimmering guitar solo from Dylan in the middle. The band still works best when they cut back on the chugging harder elements, and this piece shows just how successful they are when they do just that. `Pale Criminal' is a sedate and tasteful mid-tempo pop track with some lovely ethereal floating multi-layered harmonies from Rachel wrapped around atmospheric acoustic playing. I guarantee if a band like Coldplay released this, it would be hailed by the commercial masses as something really special. So far, so good, with three nice tunes.

Unfortunately closer `21 Grams' highlights the mistakes the band often seems to make, mainly stemming from them being unsure if they're a prog band or a metal band. The tune itself is a fairly plodding rocker as it is, very unfocused, with even Rachel's vocals unable to enliven a dull melody (she even sounds a bit bored to me), but the bigger offense is some totally inappropriate grunting metal male vocals that show up during the chorus which are completely out of place. Worse, they're actually kind of desperate and embarrassing. They almost creep in during the first track too, but they're mixed way in the background, unlike here. I don't like to put this band down, but they need to avoid these sort of ill-considered moments that clutter parts of many of their other albums as well.

`And Another Thing...' is by no means an essential release, but anyone who already likes The Reasoning should support them and snap this up. It's very affordably priced, and most of the copies appear to be autographed by the members, which of course makes it more personally appealing, so why not try and grab one of these for yourself? This EP just keeps the band moving along nicely, but I'm sure even better releases from them will show up in the near future.

Three stars.