2005 was quite a year for
Communique; still riding high off the critical acclaim of their debut album,
Poison Arrows, the quintet spent much of the year on the road. And then it all went sideways. Returning home that autumn, they found themselves label-less, and then minus a keyboardist, when Cory Gowan promptly quit. Unperturbed, the rest of the band picked up their pens, eventually recruited old friend Stephen Loewinsohn, and confidently entered the studio to self-produce the
Walk into the Light EP. Kicking off the five-song set with a trio of rousing, post-punk styled, dance friendly numbers,
Communique seem to have reached a new high. Their sound is huge, the mix superb, and the rhythms compulsive, with the tempos quickening before finally cresting on the driving "Wake Up Wake Up." This first three songs all perfectly reproduce the glory of the post-punks, whose muscular rhythms gave the music an edge, even as the synths conjured up heady atmospheres far removed from the sounds of early punk.
Communique beautifully capture that aura, their oh so rich melodies vying with the crashing, propulsive beats, while the juttery rhythms and the sharpness of the guitars collide with the swoop and swirl of the synths. The band switch gears on the final two tracks, slightly brightening the mood for "What's Been Lost," shifting away from the proto-New Romantics and into melody-laced rock tinged with just a touch of punk, then stomp into modern punk with the anthemic "Got Your Number." Add meaty lyrics to this magnificent musical banquet, and
Communique proved that adversity can bring out a band's best. ~ Jo-Ann Greene