Side A is slow as fuck!
Boy, isn't it. The movement from upbeat to pummelling and back again is a lot of fun.
2 listens in, this really sounds like the current lineup coming into their own.
I agree on the 5LD references, there seem to be a lot of the same dynamics in vocal arrangements and instrumentation (provided this was made after 5LD).
One thing that struck me early were the lyrics. They usually serve more of a rhythmic and melodic purpose than to convey meaning but these, although I wasn't checking for them, feel like they're actually...saying something?
Only gripe I have is that the toothless production doesn't always help the songs as much as it could. I just can't warm up to that Fisher Price snare sound.