DAY IS GONE

DAY IS GONE is teeny weenie little EP that only runs for a mere 16:41 by CARDIACS that is sandwiched between their full albums "On Land And In The Sea" and "Heaven Born And Ever Bright." It is yet again another strong release from the jittery merry pronksters. This was the period when the band went through some serious lineup changes including the departure of William Drake who provided all those whacky and virtuosic keyboard runs on the previous albums which was one of the band's trademarks. DAY IS GONE pretty much finds the band licking its wounds and finding a new way.

To be honest, this stuff may not quite be up to par with the 80s albums but Tim Smith and company do an exemplary job at picking up the pieces and rolling with it. While CARDIACS have always been called "pronk" as far as musical style goes, i can't say their earlier albums come across that way but with this one that reference becomes more clear. The punk meets progressive rock label is more fitting here. The spastic zolo effect is still in play but the music isn't quite as quirkly. It is more like a regular hard rock band that happens to engage in strange time signatures with a punkish delivery.

While Drake's virtuosic keyboard runs have been demoted to Tim Smith's contribution of mere atmospheric generator, the exit of the instrument as a heavy hitter only makes the band focus on becoming a tighter quintet that focuses on the hard hitting rhythmic developments. The result is that CARDIACS sound closer to a "normal" band than ever before but have more than enough wild and unpredictable energy that oozes out every chance it gets. The title track was released as a single but success always eluded this whacky band despite actually being paired up with Radiohead at one point.