Ephemeral (2009)
This EP serves the same primary function March Into The Sea did: Previewing a forthcoming album (What We All Come To Need in this case) with an alternate version of a track that would appear on it. The version of "Ephemeral" itself isn't an epic length extension like "March Into The Sea" was for "March To The Sea", but there are some notable differences: The most noticeable of these are a rougher, somewhat more guitar-focused mix and a very slightly longer ending (as in it's run time is exactly 15 seconds longer than the album version).
"Ephemeral" itself hints at What We All Come To Need being somewhat in the vein of the last album - several variations on one riff for a relatively concise five and a half minutes. I particularly like the quieter mid-section, where the bass gets a bit more room to breathe.
The two non-album tracks bring us closer to Epic Rocking territory at about 7 and a half minutes each. If "Embedding The Moss" reminds me of anything, it's more driving, uptempo City Of Echoes numbers like "Lost In The Headlights". though it shifts to a slower, more ominous pace for it's second half. "Geometry Of Murder", on the other hand, is sort or a return to the trudgy molasses of the early stuff. While none of these tracks do anything new, they're all worthy additions to the Pelican catalog, and they've again come out with a preview EP that's not so ephemeral after all.
Key Tracks: Ephemeral, Embedding The Moss
