Being someone that's been given more than his fair share of "tickles" via electricity, this album's title is probably lost on me. I'm sure that when Lenola titled this, their "our new album has been pushed back so many goddamn times that we're forced to release a few songs so our fans don't lose interest" EP, they had something in mind to the effect of a gentle, tingling sensation. Sadly, I can't help but think about the "electric shock device" I had to build in science class out of a styrofoam plate, a metal pie pan, a film container, and a nail. Or my late-'70s stereo receiver, complete with insta-shock metal knobs. Or the time I tried to hold a faulty AC adapter into its socket with a paperclip. That was fun.

But after several listens, I'm starting to think that this EP might be just the kind of therapy I need to get over my fear of electric shock. Unlike most "electric tickles," which can be downright discouraging, this one leaves me feeling optimistic. Sure, only one track on this EP will make it onto Lenola's forthcoming full-length, Treat Me to Some Life, but that one song speaks volumes.

The song in question, "Slipping Under the Shadows," also appeared as a lemon yellow 7" on Earworm earlier this year. It starts out innocently enough, with a simple chord progression and some slide guitar, rather similar to the Beta Band's "Dry the Rain" but without the shuffling beat. But as soon as the first verse enters, a blaring, dissonant synthesizer enters. While synths were used to some extent on last year's totally awesome My Invisible Name, Lenola have never used them like this before.

The synth is a welcome addition to the band's already thick sound, but they've always shined as a guitar band. On My Invisible Name, Lenola came off like drunken My Bloody Valentine aficionados building vast feedback crescendos. "Slipping Under the Shadows" never climbs to the same peak, but reaches a different one by piling layers of guitars. And unlike My Invisible Name, each guitar track retains its own distinct sonic characteristics, making the track an even more stimulating listen.

"Driving Over to Your House," an heretofore unreleased track, is a simple, sweet piano ballad-ish number, interrupted by a brief fuzzed-out guitar solo. Of all the bands making guitar-driven psychedelia, Lenola may very well be my favorite, and the solo on this track is an example of why. The band pulls awesome sounds seemingly out of nowhere, and squashes them together into brilliant, cohesive songs. Have I mentioned they do all this in a home studio? Crazy!

For your listening pleasure (and to fill up a whole EP's worth of material), Lenola has also included three more tracks: two reworked, renamed songs from My Invisible Name, and a cover of the Silver Jews' Natural Bridge classic, "Inside the Golden Days of Missing You." The two reworked tracks show Lenola using their new, slightly less dense approach, giving the tracks more room to spread out. The Silver Jews cover is nice-- a little too close to the original for my tastes, but certainly not bad.

It's hard to know exactly what to expect of Lenola's next album, judging from this EP. It's clear that it'll be different, and it seems pretty likely that they'll downplay the feedback assault of My Invisible Name. Which is a good thing and a bad thing-- the thick guitar sound contributed in no small way to making My Invisible Name great. But it takes balls of steel for a band that's already mastered a signature sound to deviate from that sound at all, and such attempts must at least be met with open ears.

-Matt LeMay