Brooklyn-based Harlem Shakes release their "Burning Birthdays" EP amidst some clamor over their material after a brief hiatus from themselves.  Seems they've opened for a lot of well-to-do indie bands but then, after declaring they'd get their own record out there, they broke up.  Once reunited, instead of doing the usual signing with an indie label to promote their indie sound, they opted to release the songs themselves.  No, I did not get a copy of this cd from the back of one of the band members' car trunks, which would have been pretty cool.  I did get it dropped in my mailbox, so these guys have gotta be roaming around Somerville somewhere.

The full play of the EP slips under twenty minutes, which is plenty of time for Harlem Shakes to establish where they're coming from.  The opening song, "Carpetbaggers," quickly introduces the honeyed vocals of Lexy Benaim.  Benaim sounds like a cross of Ben Gibbard and the current Bob Dylan with bouts of nasal sneering that tend to lilt when emotions get a grip of him.  The sound coming from his mouth is definitely an acquired taste that can sometimes gnaw on your ears (see "Sickos") but overall it fits the poppy style of music.  "Carpetbaggers" has a typical modern day build up complete with one-note keyboarding and rapidly increasing drum raps.  It's a fine enough tune to get you revved up for your expectations of how the rest of the disc will go.

"Red Right Hands" arrives next and is easily the best song of the bunch with Todd Goldstein quickly rolling down the scales of his guitar during verses.  It really makes the song, that guitar, and it gives Benaim a chance to breathe a bit.  "Felt Wings" and "Old Flames" are a couple of good light rockers that probably sound more invigorating live.  "Sickos", however, drives me nuts.  The music is fine but when the chorus kicks in (repeatedly, at that,) Benaim sounds like he's trying to imitate  a pleading Gollum the way the words are slushed together.  It's sparse beginning, slushed chorus, jumpy middle, slushed chorus, rapid build up, and slushed vocals. 

A majority of people will enjoy this disc because they've likely been waiting for awhile to get something that's been recorded from these guys.  It is a pretty good debut, that is very true, and Harlem Shakes will probably put out some highly anticipated albums in the future if they can stay together.  However, unless they step away from the well-trodden path laid out before them it's likely that you could already buy their future album from some other group out there who has already paid for the studio time.