Microfish

I have a weird connection with this Spys4Darwin EP. This came out while I was in college and one day I happened to be listening to the song Dashboard Jesus on the way to an exam. I subsequently nailed the test, even though I was certain I was going to fall walking in. After that, Dashboard Jesus then became my official pre-exam anthem. Seriously. Even today when I listen to Dashboard Jesus I'm instantly ready to crank on some scantrons.

So, aside from my weird connection what's up with this blip of an EP?

Spys4Darwin was an interesting supergroup that existed for a minute in the early 2000s. The band consisted of Sponge lead singer Vin Dombrowski, queensryche lead guitarist Chris DeGarmo, and rhythm section from Alice in Chains Mike Inez and Sean Kinney.

I bought the cd online in 2001 because I'm a huge fan of Chris DeGarmo. I'm guessing not many copies were sold and this will be a seldom visited review... and that's a shame. This is pretty good stuff. You can hear elements of Queensryche, Sponge and AIC in each song, and I think it works as sort of a post-grunge alternative rock sound. The production is great and there is a solid variety between each track that makes this EP really shine IMO.

Best song for me, obviously is Dashboard Jesus. Chain letter is also great and has sine interesting harmonica parts. Flood and insomnia station are heavier tracks lending more towards Sponge/AIC sound. Cold Dead Hands is a slow burner, kind of jar of flies-ish (but Vin is no Layne Staley).

Overall, highly recommended EP from a fever dream band.