Astronomy Is My Life, But I Love You

Although former one-man band Willem Hartong added a steady rhythm section of Rob Chojnacki (bass) and Seth Mazarsky (drums) as of Breaking Laces' 2005 album Lemonade, the resulting trio is still a platform for his songs, and he remains, as he put it in a track on 2004's Sohcahtoa, a "Geek in Love." That's the import of the title song on this six-song EP, which also references Mr. Magoo ("Why You Can't Take Away") and explores the issue of romance between conflicting faiths ("Bad Believer," "Holy Suburban Dividing Lines"). "It's cute that you caught all the grammar mistakes," Hartong sings in "Coast to Coast," "but my love letter's aren't written for a good grade." (That's right, grammar fans, it should be "letters," not "letter's," but that's how it's written on the lyric sheet.) Yet he clearly aims at both the brain and the heart in his attractive pop tunes, as usual. The addition of Chojnacki and Mazarsky (who earn co-credits for composing the music, with the lyrics credited to "Willem Attila the Tong") has brought muscle and cohesion to the arrangements of Hartong's songs, but he remains an introspective soul with a gift for a pop hook.