Enemies

The five songs on the Enemies EP manage to expose the Heartworms' strengths a bit better than the During album did: the songwriting on the two records is very much the same (Archie Moore's lovely compositions with both the Heartworms and Velocity Girl leave little to be desired), but instead of the slick pop production that marked During, Enemies has a heavily reverbed and very atmospheric tone that serves the band much better. The effect is much the same as a shoegazing fuzz — the pure pop elements of the group's sound are buried in an echoey distance, and take on a gentle, subliminal aspect that fits perfectly with Moore's songs. This isn't to say that Enemies is hugely preferable to During — both are solid and appealing indie pop albums — but there's always a sense that the Heartworms aren't quite reaching the lovely sounds they're hinting at, and Enemies gets a bit closer to them.