Illinois musician Brian Broscoe steps out from behind his producer?s desk to deliver this catchy pop EP as the inaugural release on his new imprint. The cumbersomely-titled opener ?The Photographer from the Film Set Ruined My Life? is a cheery, post-power pop/punk stomper that noone with a fistful of Drive-Thru records in their colelction won?t appreciate, and the goofy, B-52?s-ish cover of ?Love Is Strange? is also a lot of fun. It?s wall of synth arrangement will definitely intrigue all you 80?s freaks out there.

I couldn?t quite come to terms with the disjointed, syncopated ?Am I Bitter,? despite some boss L7-ish chunky guitar riffs a la ?Pretend We?re Dead.? Broscoe soounds like a pleasant enough boy-next-door type that you wouldn?t mind providing a little ?arm charm? for your daughter and he manages to imbue both ?Self Deprecatre? and ?Ugh!? with a requisite chunky fuzz guitarsw and strident, anthemic choruses that will appeal to all fans of the new wave of power punk emanating from twentysomethings around the country. A couple of the tracks are too short to develop a personality after you put the CD away, but there is promise enough here to suggest that The Unemployed should not be in that dreaded state too much longer. 7/10 -- Jeff Penczak (27 June, 2006)