Ecstatic Sunshine's Freckle Wars is Nothing To Go Crazy For

Having two guitars in a band can do wonderful things. Layering guitar parts can really open up a band's sound. It's not at all uncommon to see bands - even noisy punkers - add second guitarists at least to their live shows after their studio sound has been expanded beyond the limits of a single guitar. However, while two guitars can expand the sound of a band, the band is still limited when the two guitars are the whole of the band.

Such is the flaw in the sound of Ecstatic Sunshine. Members Matthew Papich and Dustin Wong spent there art school days studying John Fahey and Mick Barr records, the end result being two guys with their guitars so focused on shredding that they often fail to create discernable melodies.

The eight out of twelve songs that fall under three minutes on Freckle Wars could easily be combined into each other with little to no effect lost. Much in the way Elliott Smith said he worked on learning finger picking when he was 12 because it seemed so difficult and impressive, the duo seem more concerned with how fast they can move their fingers as opposed to what the actual construct of the songs is.

The songs themselves are more or less interchangeable. The only track that remotely stands out is "Perrier," but it stands out more because it is unique than because of any stellar qualities. For the most part, Freckle Wars can be reduced to prog-punk in its most elementary form, ie fancy fret work that amounts to nothing more than "a sound."

The problem with many bands that attempt to be progressive in any way is that they achieve a sound different from anyone else, but all they have is that sound. As a result, the songs all sound the same and in buying their record the consumer feels cheated. Originality is a double edged sword in the respect that one can easily come up with a unique idea but much thought is needed to execute it in a palatable way.

The album is not without merit. To their credit, Papich and Dustin can play very well. As a young band, there is still much hope that they can take their technical talents and further develop their songwriting skills and thus produce very good future works. Of course, it wouldn't hurt if they acquired a drummer and a bassist, maybe a keyboardist. Or maybe just started writing lyrics to accompany their songs? A band cannot exist on riffs alone.