JOHN K. SAMSON – “City Route 85″ (Anti-)
John K. Samson, singer/songwriter/guitar player for punk laureates The Weakerthans, has dabbled with solo recordings previously, but they were low budget under-released affairs with material equal to that of the recording quality. But his latest EP, a 7″ for Anti-, the label he records for with the Weakerthans, is a batch of solo material finally worthy of space alongside his band material.

The three-song EP, rumored to be the first of several 7″s about roads in Samson’s hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, begins with “Heart of the Continent,” a delicate ballad with plucked guitars about an intersection on Portage Avenue, the road that inspired the collection. From there we journey to “Grace General” to grapple with the death of a loved one before closing out the EP with “Cruise Night,” a song about the Sunday night ritual of driving up and down Portage Avenue, which adds a drum machine to the mix alongside Samson’s fragile voice and delicately strummed guitars.

Fans of Samson’s band are likely to be enamored of his this batch of solo work, which, like his other material, is marked by rich lyrics that explore the smaller moments in life. In a way, the EP sounds a bit like the earliest Weakerthans records with their scaled back productions and cohesiveness as a band, which has evolved in the decade since they first began recording.
John K. Samson – “Heart of the Continent”

THE LAWRENCE ARMS – “Buttsweat and Tears” (Fat Wreck Chords)
By now you sort of know what to expect out of this Chicago pop-punk trio: Dueling vocals — one voice gruff, the other less-so — and uptempo four-chord songs, usually about girls, loneliness and/or drinking. And that’s pretty much what you get on the band’s first proper 7″, which bears a name the band came up with 10 years ago but was never able to use.

Thankfully the EP’s four tracks (the digital download includes a fifth) aren’t throwaways. “The Slowest Drink At The Saddest Bar On The Snowiest Day In The Greatest City” has a great chorus that’s up there with any of the band’s best material. “Them Angels Been Talkin’” is a classic tour song. “I’m not gonna stop until the devil falls asleep,” singer/bassist Brendan Kelly sings on its chorus. “Tonight is the march of the meek.” And the EP’s closing song is sung by guitarist/singer Chris McCaughan, who adds a touch of his side project Sundowner to the song’s restrained vibe in its first half.

All this is good news for Lawrence Arms fans, who will at least get a handful of new songs to tide them over until the band’s next full-length is released. And if this isn’t enough, there’s always the band’s various side projects — the aforementioned Sundowner as well as The Falcon, though neither has the power of the Lawrence Arms.
The Lawrence Arms – “Them Angels Been Talking”

Other recent EPs of note:

IRON CHIC – “SHITTY RAMBO” (Dead Broke)
Iron Chic – “The World’s Greatest Detective”

MAE – “(A)FTERNOON EP” (Cell)
Mae – “In Pieces”

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