Artist: Owls Album: Two Label: Polyvinyl Records Release Date: March 25, 2014  (Pre-order Digital/LP/CD/Cassette) RIYL: Cap’n Jazz, Joan Of Arc, Mineral, American Football

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When I started to broaden my horizons away from punk rock, I latched on to more melodic emo bands such as The Appleseed Cast and American Football. As I dug more into the emo scene, I knew I was supposed to like bands such as Cap’n Jazz and Joan Of Arc, but I never fully got into them. So for me, a new Owls album is already a tough sell. I didn’t care much for their 2001 release on Jade Tree Records, so I met this long awaited follow-up with shrugs. Owls probably won’t gain many new fans with Two but fans of Cap’n Jazz, Joan Of Arc and Owls’ previous effort will love this album. What I can respect with Owls (and all of Tim Kinsella, Mike Kinsella, Victor Villarreal, and Sam Zurick’s projects) is the lo-fi and simple approach they’ve maintained throughout the years. If you’ve listened to anything they’ve been involved with (including Owen, Joan of Arc, Make Believe, and Ghosts and Vodka) you won’t find over-complicated production. In fact, Tim Kinsella remarks, “The line ‘We’ve never had nice stuff’ (in the song “Ancient Stars Seed”) feels good to sing because we really are still a grubby foursome with broken equipment and no money and I see these shitty young bands every day with pedal boards and no ideas.” In fact, what we’re seeing with Owls’ Two is a growth of ideas and theme, but not a shift or sacrifice in production quality. The album sounds exactly like you’d expect it to. If you were a fan of Owls’ 2001 self titled release, Two is a fantastic follow up. The band doesn’t seem to have missed a beat in 13 years, in fact Two seems to have a pinch of energy their original release lacked. The production is crisp, clean and full of life. With Two, I believe the band has accomplished what they set out to do: to return with an album that long time fans of all these members’ projects will appreciate and love.