4 out of 5

Label: Really Records

Produced by: Nick Krill (recorded by, engineered by)

A convenient A-side / B-side collection of two hard-to-find-in-physical-form ROAR recordings, I Can’t Handle Change and I’m Not Here To Make Friends, now available on an equally hard-to-find single LP.

Rarity and jacked up resell prices aside, this was an appreciated rerelease for those of us lucky to nab one (and, I suppose, unlucky in getting the originals…?). As is usual with sets, I’m rating this more on value and presentation, and though it’s pretty simple, I like what they did with the setup, giving us the cover and LP-label of one on one side and the other on the other. So, yes, you’re missing back covers, but it’s a straight-forward compromise that works with the original art’s stripped down vibe. Plus, extra credit for including a lyric sheet unique to the set, which has both albums. (And since I only have listened to Friends digitally, I don’t know if the original has the 5th mini-track that’s here… Which I honestly only noticed in the lyrics and not when listening to the album, so make of that what you will if you’re worried about missing out.)

A minor demerit for the B-side being mastered at a lower volume than A. I assume that’s an artifact of the original recordings, since no one’s claiming this as a remaster, but it sticks out none the less.