A limited edition, handmade, tour-only EP, Schooner's five-song Rocky P. might not be easy to get a hold of. But the band has already done a second run to satisfy a growing fanbase, and if they continue caving to demand, then chances are that the limited nature of this EP will eventually disappear. That might piss off the proud folks who expected their first-run EPs to retain their exclusivity (and if I were one of them, I suppose that I might feel the same way), but it ought to result in a lot of happy listeners. Consider it a triumph for the greater good.

Rocky P. is a musical merger of Schooner's 2004 debut, You Forget About Your Heart, and their three songs from the unique 3x4 (i.e., three songs by four bands) compilation that the band released with fellow Pox labelmates last year. Their sound has slowed and expanded slightly, thanks to the solidification of the early group and the addition of fifth member Megan Culton (guitar, cello, vocals), but as Rocky P. shows, it hasn't lost its punch entirely. "Make Me Mad" is thick, high-energy noise rock, initially offset by frontman Reid Johnson's basso croon, "You cannot make me mad/ you cannot make me sad/ but you do anyway." Only halfway through does his temper rise to meet the tamed fury of the music. "How did you ever get me to pay full price for this?" he shouts. "Was it a hook that I took or a bite that I bit?/ Or did it work out too well all the hell and the shit/ or did the joke that you choked on have malice in it?"

" Nothing's Changed" is one of those hummably poppy, tinny, B-side quality songs that adds to the EP's charm. A good example of how the band's music has become less hasty and urgent without necessarily losing its kick, this is a three- or four-minute song that's been allowed to fill a leisurely six. Musically, there isn't a lot here aside from the hooks that Schooner can toss out in their sleep -- these are supported at key points by a sequence of rolling "la la las" from the female backing vocalists that continually reminds me of The Pixes' "River Euphrates" -- but its soft/loud mix hangs together and nicely sets up the swinging rockabilly of "Normal Day."

" The Return of Jules Verne" is a relatively short acoustic number that extends only as long as a single breathless run-on sentence (this is the track to cite when pointing out the simple but effective poetry of Johnson's lyrics), whereas the swaying closer "The Ballad of Rocky P." is built around just two lines: "Leave from the place you hide and take to the trail you find/ Don't settle down." As far as I can recall, this is the first Schooner song to bring the female members' vocals to the fore. It does wonders to their sound, so I hope it's not a one-off.

The beautiful, dirge-like "Ominous Bird," one of the MP3 demos available on the band's site, would have fit very well on the EP, and it's a shame that Schooner didn't include it. But as it stands, Rocky P. has made the nearly three-year wait between Schooner's full-lengths more bearable - even if the inevitable (and perhaps intentional) result is to leave listeners hankering for more. And more. – Eric J. Iannelli (2007, The Daily Copper)