In the winter of 2007, I was fortunate enough to witness The Reptilian in their natural habitat: a very crowded basement in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I haven’t been back to that Kalamazoo basement since, but thankfully Boys’ Life provides an accurate (albeit brief) representation of The Reptilian’s combination of impressive guitar work, strained shouting vocals, and powerful drumming. Bassists are often unfortunately left off the list of a music reviewer’s concerns, but the work of The Reptilian’s Brok Leshman should call any listener’s attention to the low end. His melodic, clever bass lines give Boys’ Life just enough funkiness to be surprisingly danceable at times. Although most of the tracks on Boys’ Life are fairly long, The Reptilian’s creative song structures and seemingly-endless repertoire of riffs provide enough texture to keep the listener engaged. The short instrumental track, “Wallkicks Will Work,” provides a bit of respite from the frantic pace of the rest of Boys’ Life. Although it seems somewhat out of place next to the other three songs, this satisfying slice of post-rock demonstrates the stylistic diversity The Reptilian is capable of. But “So…What Are My Torso Options?” is ultimate reason to pick this EP up. Here The Reptilian weaves together delay-laden guitars, last-gasp desperate vocals, a bit of jazzy stop-start-stop-starting a la Encrypt Manuscript, and epic drum build-ups. And if that doesn’t make you want to give this a listen, my bandmate Lindsay remarked that hearing Boys’ Life spouting out of my speakers makes her feel like she’s traveling through space. If that’s what The Reptilian is going for with their Mystery Science Theater-referencing titles, they have certainly pulled it off.
Label: Count Your Lucky Stars
So…What Are My Torso Options?
02%20So...What%20Are%20My%20Torso%20Options_.mp3
