SOUND BITES

THE COMPANY BAND El Dorado From: Pros And Cons (EP) Released: July 31 While readying the next Clutch album (due for release in March), mainman Neil Fallon got together with his side-project mates in The Company Band and released their second EP Pros And Cons quietly this summer. While it doesn't exactly show a progression of sorts from their first album (side projects rarely do), it's still a good time; particularly tasty is closer El Dorado , a tune that plays like the son of AC/DC's Ride On , graduated from the school of rock and trading in his schoolboy uniform for a business suit.

Stream The Company Band's Pros And Cons here courtesy AOL Music. Fans impatiently awaiting a new record by Clutch can have their appetites partially sated by The Company Band's second EP Pros And Cons . Neil Fallon's distinctive voice has the power to make just about anything sound like Clutch; good thing, since most of the EP's five tracks bear little to no musical resemblance to Fallon's day job. We've already heard lead track House of Capricorn , and it's the closest we're coming to a true Clutch vibe.  Black Light Fever has Nuge-sized swagger, Kill Screen picks up the pace and rocks in the same vein as Zombie Barricades, the highlight of their self-titled debut album.  Loc Nar brings some menacing, doom-and-gloomy chug-a-chug, and closer El Dorado is what would have to be considered a Company Band power ballad, complete with the heart-tugging line "I'm so sorry I had to cannibalize you". At a meager five songs, of course ...

I mentioned this earlier on, when The Company Band announced the release of their second EP Pros And Cons , but lamented the fact that we had yet to hear any kind of sample. Today I rejoiced, as the good folks over at Antiquiet got their paws on an exclusive premiere of Pros And Cons ' lead track, House Of Capricorn .  For those who've yet to hear, The Company Band is comprised of Clutch's Neil Fallon and a gaggle of veritable stoner rock all-stars from the likes of Fu Manchu and CKY. But, why am I wasting your time and mine by babbling?  The track is kick ass, and deserves to be played loud: Pros And Cons is out July 31 via Weathermaker Music.

After being talked about and teased for months, Clutch have finally released their new single.  Pigtown Blues is backed with an excellent acoustic version of Motherless Child .  It was just released digitally and on 7" picture disc with the artwork you see on the left. Pigtown Blues is pretty much what you expect from Clutch at this point in their career; dirty, bluesy and funky goodness.  It may not have the same explosive effect an undisputed champ like Electric Worry has, but it definitely whets the appetite while waiting for Maryland's finest to finally get out a new album.  Three years and counting is a long time since Strange Cousins From The West , and some of us are getting a little impatient. Anyway, the good folks at Soda Shop Records took the new record for a spin and gave us a stream: