(So) Frantic EP

The third installment in a handsomely packaged trilogy of EPs finds Suedehead grooving on hot nights with “Long Hot Summer,” an instantly winsome tune that blends frontman Davey Warsop’s Birmingham, England, pub-rock roots with the forward motion of Southern California’s mod revival. Though the verse rocks like Elvis Costello in his horn-rimmed–glasses era, the catchy chorus skips along with the swagger and melodic euphoria of a Small Faces tune from the Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake album. With a distorted bass tone, the following “Trevor” is as punchy as an early Jam recording, but this is contrasted by Warsop’s buttery-smooth croon and the warm warble of an old Hammond B3 organ. The outstanding “No Pain (Like This Pain)” draws from vintage soul music’s penchant for making heartbreak sound so good; this one begs for the golden-voiced P.P. Arnold to record a cover of it. “All I Need” closes with the stylish strut of old-school Motown recordings, but there’s a melodic brilliance in the chorus that shines like a street lined with chrome-clad Vespa and Lambretta scooters.