Pinhead Gunpowder, Trundle And Spring [7" EP]

Pinhead Gunpowder Trundle And Spring [7" EP]: Allowing the feeling of Billie-Joe Armstrong playing in the band finally be broke in by those just getting used to the fact in the previous album, Billie-Joe is finally given a bigger piece of the pie in this album, singing in tracks 2 and 3 and Mike doing 1 and 4. Yes, this is another 4-track EP, and also a good one indeed. Its structure is short and convenient: Going out with a really hard-pressed grunge punk song, Dull, and spending out some energy as you end up jumping around to the song, then letting you relax for a little bit with Billie-Joe's soft, pop-punk melody for the next two songs. Beautiful and poetic, Billie-Joe's work clearly shows Aaron's more soft side, a side which without the presence of a pop-punker like Billie-Joe might not have been as permitted. But don't get cocky, cuz' now Mike's jumping back in, and he's even more pissed than before, rehashing out the roots of attacking human arrogance as found in Fahizah with the song In Control (your air of confidence seems so appealing/while it's just a front, a front concealing/your insecurities/your inability to deal with anyone).

But their song In Control, lyrically, is as close to the band's debut as it gets here. For the first 3 songs, Aaron delves into the honesty of his personal feelings in songs. Aaron takes this starting with cutting insecurities at the beginning of the album (like a dull knife in my back/I'm my own worst enemy/this war inside of me/keeps on taking the same casualty/but now I'm ready to launch a counter-attack/YEEEEAAAAAHHHH!). Moving on to the more mellow approach, Aaron takes on singing about the fruits of life as he sees it in Keeping Warm In the Nighttime (well the night's like a church for non-believers/it's a search for hidden treasures/quench your thirst with simpler pleasures/*GROWL*), then in MPLS Song (sometimes it's what you love that most suffocates you/sometimes it's good to give friends a chance to miss you/well home is far way now/but I remember how/sometimes it was cold and lonely too). Showing a new side and bringing some new thoughts to the table, this record ain't bad itself, and all a good, quick listen. The guitars still know their way around either method used by either leader taking place, and as usual the drummer spices up the sensation with the open rythm.

Best Song: If you're more in the mood for Mike, Dull. If you're more in the mood for Billie-Joe, Keeping Warm In the Nighttime.

Least Best Song: For Mike, In Control. For Billie-Joe, MPLS Song.