2 out of 5

Label: Frenchkiss Records

Produced by: Enon (?)

If you’re more accepting of the High Society and beyond years of Enon than I am, this single might balance out for you. I appreciate that version of the group, but the way Believo! gets relegated to the past – that it is, essentially, a totally different band – always kind of bums me out, given how much I adored that album, making me have quite a bit of negative bias towards… the rest. And I guess I’d argue that the post-Believo! stuff just wasn’t as unique sounding, slotting more in with its Touch and Go / indie rock brethren of the time, but again, we’re dealing with my bias.

Drowning Appointments is the Toko / John / Rick / Matt era of the band, so it’s very High Society-esque, but it’s also a total B-side vibe: a beat, Toko’s voice, and that’s kind of it. There’s not much wiggly nuance or even a notable melody (if I can boil Enon down to those vague descriptors), so even if you are favorable towards this arrangement, I don’t know if the song stands out.

B-side Perfect Draft is an interesting name, as it does come across as more of a sketch. Perhaps a solo John affair, featuring his soothing murmured vocals over a barely-there pluck of notes, it has some interesting vocal layering and background effects going on, but also does not register as a full song, rather a space to try out those layering ideas.