Short Songs

For its sixth studio album, the Ontario post-hardcore band Silverstein cuts to the quick, literally. With "SOS" clocking in as the album's longest track at one minute and 36 seconds and "See Ya Bill" and Good Clean Fun's "You Gotta Stay Positive" not even making it to the 10-second mark, Silverstein slams through 22 songs in just less than 20 minutes. The first 12 cuts are originals, with the remaining dozen being covers of tunes by Dead Kennedys ("Short Songs"), Descendents ("Coffee Mug"), NOFX ("It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite"), Green Day ("The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink"), and The Promise Ring ("Scenes from Parisian Life") among the notable. The performances are sharp and often harsh; the Promise Ring cover is the most pleasing on the ears and relatively leisurely at one minute and 21 seconds. The brevity doesn't mean the band ignores harmonies or hooks; Chixdiggit's "Quit Your Job" is quite sweet. The Green Day cover even throws in acoustic guitar.