The heyday of the Chapel Hill scene in the 1990s might be over in terms of media coverage, but that doesn?t mean that there aren?t still a lot of bands to look out for in the heart of North Carolina. Cantwell, Gomez & Jordan are one of those bands. After their 2002 debut album, a 7? single and several compilation tracks, here?s a new EP comprising six songs of DIY post-hardcore math punk and a video.

It?s interesting to see that certain traditions do survive in local music scenes. In Durham/Chapel Hill, it?s the basic setting of drums, vocals, bass and electric guitar. C, G & J add some saxophone to the bill. Not that the music of Dave Cantwell, Anne Gomez and David Jordan is in any way groundbreakingly new. But the energy contained in the six songs is worth every penny you?ll spend on this EP. All the music is pretty firmly rooted in the tradition of American indie rock, encompassing D.C. Hardcore, New York No Wave and Chicago Post Rock. While the vocal tracks are all very solid indie rock songs, the stand-out track of ?We Are Not At the Opera? is the instrumental ?For Des_Ark?, spiralling upwards with every second and creating a highly explosive tension.

The video courtesy of Jason Middleton is also a worthy inclusion. Just like C, G & J?s music, it is very 1990s indie rock. It makes you think back to the days when MTV was still showing Sonic Youth videos, paid for by David Geffen. Those times might be over as well, but the spirit survives. 7/10 -- Stephan Bauer (18 September, 2006)