OPTION

1993

IDAHO: The Palms (EP)

The Reid Bros, on Prozac — or rather, desperately in need of Prozac. I’d be less irritated if the press kit didn’t whine about how one of this unlikely pair (the other guy’s classically trained) had survived a rough life on the streets full of brushes with drugs and the law. Is that supposed to explain why this is so dang doleful and Goth-like? Sheesh, this duo never met a minor chord they didn’t like. And the tempos...size extra largo! Now there’s no denying their mastery of feedback — it billows like distant thunderheads throughout these four songs, but guys... let the sun shine in.

(Caroline, 114 W. 26th St., NYC, 10001)

— Gordon Anderson