The theory, at least in the rock world, is that the debut EP is supposed to tease the listener with a couple of great songs and one or two others that hint at potential, whetting the appetite for the album that follows and delivers on that potential. You could not have a more perfect case study of that principle in action than D.C.'s Medications, whose five song, self-titled opening salvo last year was an accomplished, tantalizing mission statement for a band keen on establishing an identity for themselves separate from Faraquet, the band that essentially became Medications after a personnel switch.
Your Favorite People All in One Place takes that EP and builds on it in two directions: one more lush and melodically intense; the other drier, more serially rhythmic, and somewhat closer to the old-fashioned guitar tangle of Faraquet and 90s Dischord post-hardcore. Excellent opener "Surprise!" goes in the former direction, creeping out from a protracted intro with choppy drums, roiling guitars, and melodic vocals that hover pensively in the verses. The song builds to multiple shuddering climaxes, Devin Ocampo's guitar stabbing out with ragged riffs and snowballing lead lines. It's a stunner, and it sort of makes you wish they had spent the whole record exploring this sound.
As it happens, much of the rest of the album opts more for typically D.C.-sounding rhythmic jaggedness, which to be fair the band does quite well. The trio engage in precise, tightly wound interplay as a matter of course, peaking on "Opinions", which veers into frenetic passages of wild, jittering guitar, stuttering bass, and calamitous drumming. Drummer Andrew Becker has some banner moments on the record, especially his razor-sharp fills on "This Is the Part We Laugh About", which adds a whole dimension to the song that it wouldn't work well without.
On that note, Medications are sort of a modern power trio, each member's instrumental parts playing an integral role in the band's make-up. Using that approach, they've turned in a solid debut album that nicely balances their pop tendencies with their more destructive urges. If there's any one thing holding this record back from greatness, it's the occasional passage that's too start-stop for its own good, but those are few and far between, and Your Favorite PeopleÉ should please the Dischord contingent.
