Fans of the incisive, emotional rock songs by the New York quartet Bayside may be surprised to hear frontman Anthony Raneri open his genre-spanning debut solo EP with “Sandra Partial”, an alt-country song with chiming acoustic guitars and a Bakersfield-flavored backbeat. “The Ballad of Bill the Saint” follows suit, with darker western tones, a baritone guitar lead, and dynamic vocal parts. Still, anyone who fell in love with Bayside’s 2006 unplugged EP will be familiar with Raneri’s approach here. The staccato rhythms and electric guitar upstrokes on “Charleston” recall early Elvis Costello, while the charming and flirty “Please Don’t Leave” might be what Chris Isaak would have sounded like had he grown up 20 years later in the age of post-hardcore pop. For those who prefer their apples falling closer to the tree, “Lead, Follow, Fall” is a full-band affair wherein Raneri returns to the progressively arranged emo of Bayside’s 2007 album, The Walking Wounded.
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