$6.00
Missing Pages is the new project from Stephen Svacina (Sweet Talk, Jonly Bonly, ex- Mind Spiders) featuring Ali Ditto (Talkies, Mean Jolene), Gabriel Pastura (Sean Morales, Church Shoes), and Garrick Thurston (Slow). Taking cues from genre benders before them and shaped by the musical overload of the Austin TX live scene, Missing Pages meld together a sound both brooding and hopeful, sincere while rejecting the sentimental; power-pop hooks ensnared in a wiry tangle of dark, splintering edges.
On their blistering 7" debut, Missing Pages channel the anxiety, exasperation, and jubilation born of those delicate moments in life when the casual comforts and routine are stripped away, forcing us to confront the ugly truth of who we really are. These songs represent both the high and -- more importantly -- the comedown, and coming to terms with what it all means.
A-side “Long Way Down” fumes with irrepressible anger, the pound of drummer Pastura’s kick like the iron taste of blood in your mouth. The simple production and tight arrangements allow a paranoid sharpness to dominate the track, broken only by the towering guitar lead attempting to pull the listener up and dust them off. Feeding off the band’s ragged energy, Svacina’s liberation feels palpable as he screams out at the song’s roaring crescendo.
After the fall, there’s only one way to go: up. B-side “Highlighter Piss” revels in lessons learned from the injury; massive guitars ignite, only to fade to somber memories and daydreams of fleeting emotions. Accompanied on vocals by Ditto, the song portrays the frayed nature of a shared experience, and how we can begrudgingly dispense some wisdom as we part ways. Guitarist Thurston obliterates the fretboard as his solo explodes like a firecracker over the nimble rhythm section.
Recorded at Estuary Studios by John Michael Landon and mixed by Marked Men/Radioactivity mastermind Jeff Burke, Missing Pages’ 7-inch continues to sharpen a jagged reflection of the world. In 2018 the four-piece began tracking their debut album.