Joel R.L. Phelps: The Downer Trio EP

Silkworm has seen loads of critical acclaim for albums like last year's Firewater, its first recording after singer Joel R.L. Phelps left the group to embark upon a solo career. But that band's best work was on albums like 1994's In The West, which ideally balanced Phelps' pained, searing voice with the unpredictable, minor-key simmering/pummeling of Silkworm's supporting players. When Phelps left, something was missing from both Silkworm's follow-ups and Phelps' promising 1996 solo debut, Warm Springs Night. Phelps' The Downer Trio EP gets the balance just right, with songs like "Razorback" building to a furious crescendo, and "Good Advice For Dogs" holding to a torturedly deliberate pace, even as the drama builds to what would seem to be a bursting point. The group tacks on covers of songs by Dramarama and The Clash, but the reason to pick up this long-delayed EP is Phelps and his band's three inspired, intense, excellent originals. You probably won't find it in your local record store, but The Downer Trio is worth every minute you spend tracking it down. (PacifiCo, 1916 Pike Place, #12-370, Seattle, WA 98101)