Used to be, when you saw the "Extended Play" label tagged on a release, you could be fairly certain of what it meant. In most cases:

a) The band was just starting out and hadn't yet mustered the output to fill a full-length album;

b) It was a between-LPs morsel tossed to the fans to quench their thirst for new material; or

c) It was little more than a vehicle for remixes.

While remixes certainly play a starring role here, the Departure Lounge's Out of There EP is refreshingly more complicated than that. Follow along, if you can:

1999's Out of Here was the highly-acclaimed British debut of Tim Keegan, erstwhile guitarist for Robyn Hitchcock. Flydaddy Records released Out of There, the American counterpart in the States last May. The Yank version contained remixes and new instrumental songs. But, not wanting to shortchange their countrymen, Keegan and his Lounge buddies took a sampling of the remixes and instrumentals that the British were denied, and packaged it for them in a seven-track little brother to Out of There (the American album), and released it only in the UK. What we're considering here is this musical kickback.

For all of these releases, Keegan assembled a dream team of personnel on the other side of the glass, and he benefits from every ounce of experience at the boards. The contributions of Marc Waterman (Ash, Depeche Mode, Elastica), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins) and French DJ/producer Kid Loco trickle down to the EP. On the full albums, Hitchcock chimes in, as well as Billy Bragg's P.D. Wigg, and others. But for our little import, the spotlight shines on two remixes by Raymonde and one by Loco.

Simon Raymonde's remixes are little more than additional production. There's no splice-and-dice at work like on Loco's "Disconnected." But kudos to Raymonde for restraining his influence-- the songs don't sound as much like the Cocteau Twins as they do Departure Lounge. Raymonde fully fleshes out "The New You" and "Johnny A," adding a rich, opaque sheen and turning them into exalted pop gems. The former is a lighthearted glider ride through synth raindrops and lyrics of personal reinvention, filtered through the trendy influence of Bacharach. The weepy intro of "Johnny A" yields to the regal, shambling majesty of a three-pronged attack of twin guitars and organ, about two notes sooner than you expect.

Keegan's voice is tender without crossing into girlishness. On "Johnny A," his pacing and delivery is so reminiscent of Morrissey that it wouldn't be out of place for fans to toss daffodils during a live performance. At other times, he sounds a bit like Hitchcock, or a young Roger Waters. Regardless of who he is evoking, though, they're always British, it seems.

Unlike Raymonde's work, Kid Loco's take on "Disconnected" is a total reinvention of the original. In the skilled hands of Loco, Keegan becomes into a snake charmer with a languid, breathy monotone. The music meets his challenge and atmosphere forms like the smoke in a fortune-teller's tent. "Disconnected" fits in better with the darker, more experimental instrumentals of the EP, like "Late Night Drive," which does a great job of personifying its title with a successful mix of snare gunshots and bass riffing buried under tinkering keyboard patterns.

The meat of the disc is bookended by the indigenous-sounding "El Intro" and "Los Exitos," two fleeting takes on the same melody. "El Intro" is a brief, bare mandolin and guitar mood-setter that offers a distant transistor radio feel. "Los Exitos" has a more filmic sound, with full trumpets and string flourishes.

EPs are tricky, though. The margin for error is slashed by about half. A weak song sticks out like a sore thumb and cannot benefit from the stronger chainlinks in a longer work. Also, attempts at including cheapening filler and b-side stacking can backfire under the closer scrutiny afforded by only twenty minutes of music. With this EP, Keegan has demonstrated a worthwhile use for the format, while avoiding its usual pitfalls. Striking a perfect balance between sweet pop and moody instrumentals, Out of There ends before it has the opportunity to falter.

-John Dark