Kittyhawk/Cherry Cola Champions

Split EP

This quick 10-minute split between two different strains of Midwest emo is a fairly enjoyable little gut-punch. With a sound akin to a fuzzier Lemuria or a less strained Rainer Maria, Kittyhawk deliver two highlights, as “The Green” and “The Red” churn with driving, mid-paced beats (and the former with quiet guitar squalls), while “The Rot” acts as a mostly blown-out, organ-based interlude. Cherry Cola Champions follow with a mathy pair of spazzy, loose songs that produce mixed results. “Noise” is the first, and it sounds more like a building intro than a fleshed-out song, which seems strange given that it's the kickoff track on Side B of an already brief split EP. “Static” is more thought out, showing the band to be more Don Caballero than their twinkle-daddy contemporaries, but it's an approach that feels a little spasmodic and unemotional for its own good, with talked and shouted vocals that usually lack any sort of specific feeling. Things pick up in its last minute to make for a pleasing and emotive outro, at least.

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Kittyhawk’s “The Green”