Emergency

This rollicking three-piece melds the post-rock strategies of their hometown Chicago with charming female vocals not unlike a ballady Cat Power or later Blonde Redhead. Formerly known as Blackbirds, the band re-released Emergency under the moniker Pit Er Pat due to the overabundance of this type of musical animal. The album starts off with the epic three-part narrative of "Bog Man," and Fay Davis-Jeffers' untrained childlike vocal and surging keyboards stand out as the band's strongest assets immediately. Backing her is Butchy Fuego (Need New Body and Neutral Milk Hotel) and bassist Rob Doran (formerly of the Alkaline Trio), driving the keys' chordal melodies with subtle, unexpected patterns. The title track is perhaps the strongest here, a fast-paced, tumbling track where Davis-Jeffers' "Hurry, hurry, hurry," just behind the beat, is almost sung as a reminder while a buried male voice whines high, a trick from the bag of Black Heart Procession. The doubled vocal of "Too Many" is too heavy, coming off as an elongated jingle, and the simmering finale, "The One Dot," is a reluctant instrumental jam best left off, as Pit Er Pat seems to work best when all three bandmembers are galloping away with their parts.