Red Collar EP release

Red Collar: "Used Guitars" (from The Hands Up EP 2007. Buy/download)

There's a lot of good stuff happening for Durham's Red Collar. They've put out a great EP on 307 Knox and have a release show this Friday at 305 South. Even better, they got a slot at the Reverbnation showcase at SXSW later in the month. Couldn't happen to nicer folks.

The EP features two songs that the band has had up on MySpace for a while ("Used Guitars" and "Witching Hour") and two that are new (to me) ("Hands Up" and "Stay"). As I've noted earlier, the music is smartened-up punk, and the lyrics are thoughful and sensitive to the plight of folks on the verge of being crushed by forces beyond their control. The disillusion of "Used Guitars" is compelling -- listen to Jason Kutchma spitting "We can't be everything we wanted to be" as the song winds up -- while "Stay" manages to find a glimmer of hope in amidst creditors and auditors. In addition to the well-crafted lyrics, the music is pretty smart as well: "Hands Up" makes the most of a nifty pair of interlocking guitar parts, and the "Stay" gets a jolt from some jumpy odd-time sections.

Grayson Currin gives the EP a thoughtful look in this week's Independent, and the Daily Tar Heel has a nice conversation with the band. (I already thought Jason was pretty cool, but to know that he covered "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" in a former band takes the cake...)

So, the CD release show at 305 South on Friday is $5, which also gets you a copy of the EP. There's another show at the Broad Street Cafe the following Friday (3/9), a benefit for the Leukemeia and Lymphoma Society. Among others on the bill is Can Joann, a band that carried the promise of the Aiden Grace EP into last year's strong release, Hurt People Hurt People. Here's hoping Red Collar can follow the same trajectory.