Roughly a year after this Dallas, Texas quintet released their debut full-length 'The City Turns Everything Electric' in 2005, Stellamaris are back with another release. The band did everything themselves but the mastering, which was done by Michale Fossenkemper, known for working with Grandaddy, The Rocket Summer and Matisyahu.

To be honest, when I was asked if I wanted to review Stellamaris' new EP, I knew more or less what to expect. Read my review for 'City Turns Everything Electric' if you don't understand. What I expected was a solid set of catchy indie rock/pop songs sensitive to human emotion and it's musical effect. After an ardent “I do,” this is just what I got in my mailbox.

Musically, Stellamaris are still up to the same old tricks, but with twice as much success. Vocalist Pettijohn's performance is over-the-top in it's smooth, calming melodies. 'Waking Up' combines the sweetly resonating guitars from a distant unseen landscape with jangly chords and Pettijohn's intense melodies. 'Apparitions' reminds me of a more spaced out 764-Hero track with a piano, but is the only track on the EP I do not care for. 'Faces On Screens' is endearing from the get-go, with it's piano and vocal intro, which is joined by melodically driving guitars subsequently. It's in the slower, more cautious tracks like this one and the next two, that the vocals shine brightest. 'Strangers' opens with acoustic guitars and is soon joined by a lightly panting ensemble of lead guitar, drum, and violin. 'Walking On Stones' is the mellowest track on the album, merely finger-picked acoustic at first. Instruments come into the scene slowly, so this is by no means a stripped down song. The song gently gallops along into an incredibly catch ending -- over half the song – in which the vocals attain such a perfect falsetto, that the repetitions are anything but too many. 'The People We've Become' sounds like a track off of Stellamaris' first album, but is almost more of a classical song, with piano and violins being the only instruments.

In regards to production, this EP is both bigger and better than the debut full-length previous released, and is an even bigger testament to the sound that Stellamaris is honing down. If you're already a fan of Copeland, Keane or Cool Hand Luke, check out this promising band and look for their November tour with Umbrellas and Lakes (Watashi Wa, Eager Seas).

Rating: 4/5