Short Songs Long Faces

This six-song EP contains five new studio tracks as well as a live version of "Share the Light." While Across the Border's contributing folk elements are still obvious, the band's punk leanings seem to get more pronounced with each release. Unlike many punk-related bands, Across the Border is very conscientious in its songwriting style. Melody is always a major consideration, and the pieces possess melody aplenty. Singer Jochen ("Jake") wrote all of the lyrics and was aided sparingly by fiddler David and accordion player Kölsch in the music composition. The ascerbic tone is not to be taken too seriously, though, as the songs are usually upbeat and even slightly playful in nature, despite the anti-establishment bent of the texts. A few sobering and rational themes are found amid the songs' discord, like the resolve to stop drinking (which ultimately fails) and the beckoning to rise up and make something purposeful out of one's insignificant life. Even the song "Smash It" (which advocates the demolition of TV sets) shares that symbolic sentiment with a much more conservative constituency than Across the Border would probably care to admit. The band seems to be lessening the rhetoric while increasing the amperage with this limited selection of songs.