Thursday, May 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

CDVS

Now that the hyperfocused efforts to release a consistent, enduring work are done, unlikely Time/AOL Warner employees Wilco and the Flaming Lips are left to their more left-of-center devices, revitalizing the old EP format with two fan-friendly releases.

Where the songs on these mini-albums might've served individually as Christmastime fan club giveaways, free downloads or import B-sides, each of the alt-rock darlings preferred bundling them up, finding the seldom-used middle ground between a rarity-rich full-length and the commercial single. Seeing how there's a big overlap area among the two bands' fan bases, the only question may be which album is worth procuring first.

Scoring Wilco's thank-you gift for those who supported its 2002 triumph, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, is easiest because it's actually a free download based on old import B-sides, so we'll start there. Available as a stream on wilcoworld.net (anyone who purchased Yankee can use an included number code to download the burn-friendly MP3 versions, artwork included), More Like the Moon hearkens back to 2001, when the band was left to showcasing the label-less Yankee online. The default ploy worked, but the EP isn't likely to cause the excitement of its pre-Nonesuch parent album. More Like the Moon reveals the more intimate and experimental Wilco moments, whether it's Yankee scraps like the Latin-tinged "A Magazine Called Sunset," or the newer, Tom Petty-esque "Handshake Drugs." The best song from Yankee, "Kamera," gets a delightfully fuzzed-up remix here, while the band goes short on the sparse title track, referring to the Summerteeth playbook. It doesn't have much by way of a sense of humor, but then again, neither does Wilco.

The Flaming Lips, on the other hand, dish out their no-limits, ironically earnest vision, keeping enthusiasts expecting the unexpected. Fashioned like the Airbag/How Am I Driving? shortplayer Radiohead released in 1998, Fight Test is essentially a loaded single for the title track, culled from the Oklahoma band's Grammy-winning 2002 release, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. In fact, the Lips include a live cover of Radiohead's own 2001 track, "Knives Out," as well as a spaghetti-western go at Kylie Minogue's infectious "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and a straightforward interpretation of tour mate Beck's "The Golden Age." The band keeps things lively and digitized with a Scott Hardkiss remix of "Do You Realize?," as well as two new curiosities, one being a country homage to White Stripes leadman Jack White.

This one's sort of a draw. The Flaming Lips clearly have the festive edge, but Wilco's abbreviated vision wields more evocation and crafted heft. The only clear winner here is the fan.--Mike Prevatt