Little things often pack a wallop. "Fun-size" packages of Peanut M&Ms;, first-date handjobs, and dollar bills found lying in rain gutters-- all are sufficiently satisfying treats, but they each leave you wanting more. Such is the case with this split EP. Clocking in at a mere four tracks over 16 minutes, I'm just not fully satisfied. On the other hand, everything here is top-shelf material I'd be a fool to bitch about.

If you're a fan of the Plan, you might already be familiar with their original contribution to this split, "The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich." Not only has it been a live staple for over a year, but it was also-- along with Juno's "Non-Equivalents," the other original tune appearing on this split-- released as a 7" on the Spanish label BCore a few months back. Luckily, "Gets Rich" is one of those rare songs that's so goddamned sweet, you can own a copy of it on both vinyl and CD without even the slightest sense that you're being excessive.

I've often heard that "The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich" was heavily inspired by Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad." And while the boys in the Plan may be as white as albino snowflakes, there are definite parallels. Amidst a frenzy of wacky sound effects, Travis Morrison manages to spit out an amazing barrage of syllables in a rather short period of time. All 18 syllables of the song's opening line, "In early '95 we finally got the dough to diversify," are crammed into two seconds of playtime, resulting in a tongue-to-sound ratio of nine syllables per second.

The Plan's other contribution is equally entertaining. Jennifer Paige's disgustingly obnoxious hit single, "Crush," was once just another over-produced, teen-demographied contribution to the canon of pop culture by the exalted songwriting team of Goldmark, Mueller, Cosgrove, and Clark. But now, by stripping the track down to its bare essentials, the Plan have recast the hit single as a sparse, slightly dark love song, while retaining lyrics like, "See ya blowin' me a kiss/ It doesn't take a scientist/ To understand what's going on, baby." It registers a little like "Respect is Due," but without the crescendos.

Fellow DeSoto rockers Juno follow the Plan's lead, contributing one original-- the aforementioned "Non-Equivalents"-- and a mind-blowing cover of DJ Shadow's "High Noon." The former is a prime example of the kind of soaring three-guitar rock that the band put forth on their first album, This is the Way It Goes and Goes and Goes. The potential of three guitarists in a band has been wrecked many a time by gratuitous soloing and similarly self-indulgent crap (Skynyrd, anyone?), but Juno's Gabe Carter, Jason Guyer, and Arlie Carstens explore the full dynamic range of the sound, making "Non-Equivalents" a lush, gorgeous exercise in guitar rock. And if "Non-Equivalents" is an impressive track, the way Juno make DJ Shadow's "High Noon" come to life is even more so. The energy of a live band simply transforms Shadow's version, making it a thousand times more dynamic, exciting, and energetic than the original version.

Taking into account its bargain price, it's hard to think of any good reason not to recommend this EP. It's fast, it's fun, and it features the talents of two of the best independent rock bands going right now. If that isn't worth your six bucks, I don't know what is.

-Matt LeMay