Ah, my good old buddies, the Wrens. They're always there to comfort me when I'm feeling crappy. They give me reason to live. Power for living! Well, no, it's not like the band comes over and gives me a boost of self- confidence or anything. Instead, I've got something almost as good-- or maybe even better-- their rockin' music.

Abbott 1135's the title of the band's 6-song EP follow-up to their brilliant 1996 release, Secaucus. See, Secaucus had it all-- pop, rock, country, punk, ballads, love songs, the works. Of course, it also fell just short of 20 tracks, so they had a lot of room to experiment. This EP sees the band traveling in a more standard pop-rock direction with all of their boyish, energetic excitement still intact.

Tracks like the opener, "Pretty O.K." and "North to Nothing" show the band at the top of their game-- relentless, charged and spazzy. "I Guess We're Done" is a nice one that combines equal parts Andy Partridge and Brian Wilson for choco-licious results, and "This Machine" actually has the band experimenting with current electronica trends (albeit just a little). But on two numbers, "It's Alright" and "Fire Fire," the band let their wild n' crazy antics get the best of them and the songs just don't turn out.

Naturally, there were a few throwaway numbers on Secaucus and the band's 1994 debut, Silver, but those albums also showcased a bit more diversity than Abbott 1135. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the band's next album which is due out, hopefully, before I die.

-Ryan Schreiber