"this is a real ep" (aka, two awesome THOU reviews!)

It's pretty awesome and inspiring when we get sent reviews for a release we didn't even mail out promos for. BIG ups to Ian Wise and Demian Johnston for taking the time to review the THOU, Baton Rouge, You Have Much To Answer For EP all on their own volition. Seriously, much appreciated!

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Thou somehow manage to consistently put out fully realized records with obviously thoughtful artwork and meticulous packaging. And they do so at a pace that makes me embarrassed of how slowly my own musical endeavors come together. This release, their most recent 12” EP (it’s four songs, but each side is about 15 minutes, so “EP” is sort of misleading) sums up most things I love about the band. Their earlier releases were heavy, but focused on slow parts with really pretty sounding guitar harmonies. I loved it, but recently they’ve picked up the pace a little and have gotten much, much more dissonant in their sound. This record is no less abrasive than the “Smoke Pigs” track they contributed their split with Black September, but they have some spacey, jammy parts that go well with their sludge aesthetic and help the record flow better as a long player. The tracks here also seem less disjointed than songs on Tyrant or Peasant, both of which had some awkward changes. Of course, the packaging is great as the band partnered with the always diligent Robotic Empire, the only people who may actually be nerdier than Thou about vinyl packaging. -Ian Wise / Razorcake (buy here)

holy shit. this is fantastic. super heavy, super thick and totally amazing sounding. you can really tell they gave a shit in releasing this. i have no idea if this is coming out in any other formats but this is a real ep. so often bands will release a cassette to keep some sort of "cred" going but it ends up being some throw away demos or noise from a band that has no business making noise. this feels real. two heavy and interesting originals on the a side and an instrumental laden with samples and really heavy guitars followed by a Nirvana cover with a killer guitar solo using a phase shifter in a excellent way. the way this sounds is also another reason why having James Plotkin master your releases will never make you regret the affordable price. you just have to hear it. it sounds amazing. the packaging is a double sided screenprinted three panel j card and it looks fantastic. the artwork is great, the music is great. i used to not really dig thou but after the last couple things i have heard i am completely sold. great work. - Demian Johnston / Dead Formats

This release is still available on both formats (vinyl and cassette):
* THOU - Baton Rouge, You Have Much To Answer For 12"
* THOU - Baton Rouge, You Have Much To Answer For Cassette
* THOU - Most of the rest of their (available) standalone releases, plus t-shirts/etc