4 out of 5

Label: RoadCone

Produced by: Rollerball?

Another masterfully miasmic trip from Rollerball.

The limiting factor on this EP – on this almost 35 minute EP – is that it plays out more like an extended single than three tracks.  This isn’t inherently bad, but as one of the groups’ strengths is in taking abstracts and allowing them to entangle into an uncompromising whole, shifting that approach into something more holistic (as opposed to per-song) removes a note of mystery and mood from our first couple tracks.  Opener ‘Officer Down’ is as loose as it gets, though still carrying that sense of assuredness Rollerball brings as they tap and strum and sample their way through.  It seems as though this will be build-up to our second track, ‘1/2 Horse, 1/2 Pig, ‘as this kicks in to slightly more constructed territory, but it ends up remaining fairly level for its runtime as well.  These are both enjoyable and nuanced tracks, but stacked up against the 25-minute epic closer ‘Stone Cold Rhythm Dog‘ – which has its own build-up and cool down before rocketing into an insane groove for 15 minutes, and which incorporates elements from these preceding tracks – they can’t help but come across as footnotes.

But leave it to musicians of this caliber to be able to write off two accomplished tracks as filler.  Einäugige is definitely essential Rollerball material, even if it ends up inevitably leading you to focus on one of it’s three offerings.