Power-pop with plenty of expert details from a four-piece who play too rarely. Myspace lurkers (these tracks have been percolating for a while) will note much-improved production that's still pretty Buck Rogers (half-space, half-trash) but which forces a distinctive sound into this much-anticipated-by-us single. Double A-side here, though I would have loved to hear an ESPS ballad: Nathan (keys) and Jessica (guitar) fit melodies together in such unexpected ways that something sappy would probably come out like Nick Lowe Taking Tiger Mountain. Obvious respect toward artier aspects--there's a line that runs from The Move to the glammy Harvest bands to like Todd Rundgren's glittery stuff, and ESPS is tangled in there too. "Dream" has some stair-climbing breaks under the harmonies that bring to mind early Sparks and "Standing in the Teller's Line" reminds me of "Shake Some Action" especially when the break lifts off. myspace.com/espeletashaferproject if you want but can't find.

-Chris Ziegler

from the July 08 issue of the LA Record, vol. 3 no. 5