Album Notes

Amplifier Magazine:
If you like the Feelies, chances are you'll like EP, which serves as a neat introduction to the Sames. Hypnotic, intertwining guitars laid down over staccato rhythms are the rule here, and done to good effect at that. Layered vocals produce an overall dreamy quality, making songs like "An Excuse We Give," "I Wish That You'd Written This Song", and "Live My Life for Me" the aural equivalent of a mood-altering pharmaceutical. The highlight is the seven minute opus, "Plight of the Bumble-bee," a song that bounds along wistfully like a great lost Feelies tune, and features tortured, Velvet Underground-like guitar.

News & Observer:
Guitar heroics: Given the excessive running time the compact disc format offers, few albums leave you wanting more. But one such record is "EP," a six-track mini-album by local ensemble the Sames. It has sharp songs, wide-open sonics and some downright amazing guitar tones that will put you in mind of bombers in flight. - David Menconi

Ink-19:
A five-track EP of intriguing and angular indie rock from the debuting Sames. The minimalist cover art belies the complexities of the music, and while it may appear a bit unassuming at first, give it another few spins to discover some surprisingly vibrant and exciting music. Blending the angular pop of Pavement with My Bloody Valentine's intricate soundscapes, The Sames have created something that's all theirs. From the psychedelic outsiders-anthem of "An Excuse We Give" through the shoegaze crunch of "Half The Words" and ending (bar an outro/bonus kind-of-thing) with the dwelling, churning "Plight of the Bumblebee," The Sames have come up with something truly out of the ordinary on their first EP. - Stein Haukland

Erasing Clouds:
There's a reason that the liner notes to The Sames' self-titled debut EP say "songs and noises by The Sames.' They definitely play up the noisy side of rock in their delivery. These 5 songs are energetic rockers reminiscent of various early 90s indie-rock pioneers. They're melodic and catchy, yet delivered with force and feedback. Their lyrics are enigmatic yet somehow touching witticisms about what to do or not do with your life. They have memorable titles, like "I Wish That You'd Written This Song" and "Plight of the Bumblebee," and equally memorable songs to back those titles up.--dave heaton

Trianglerock:
The Sames are currently at the top of *their* class of 2002. Their debut EP successfully seduced every single WXDU DJ within a week of its release, and rightfully so: it's a brilliant 5-song piece of screwy indie-pop-rock. - Ross Grady

Spectator:
Touching on sonic themes that bring to mind vintage Superchunk and Polvo, then ramming 'em through a post-punk prism, Durham's Sames forge a refreshing hybrid that simultaneously tweaks the nostalgist and the forward-looker in us all. At times on this six-song EP (there's one unlisted experimental track at the end), the yowling, yearning vocals threaten to steer the tunes into emo (shudder) territory, but that's a minor complaint. From the moist throb 'n' chime of the utterly exuberant "An Excuse We Give," to the Wire-meets-Sonic Youth "Live My Life for Me," to the Oriental-tinged exotica of "Half the Words," the tunes here all make for a compelling introduction to a bright, new pop hope from the Triangle. -- Fred Mills