By Aaron Calvin

    When Aaron Stoquert describes his debut EP, Run For Your Life, as “songs about zombies and how they might feel,” it would probably be more accurate to describe this concept album as songs about how zombies might not feel.

“Bunker Hill” introduces the listener to Stoquert’s world with a macabre waltz and an introduction muffled by the sound of a needle slowly making its way across a scratched record. The initial sound is interesting, though predictable. Meandering on, “Soft Skin” creeps along on a blues progression with a tempo as pedantic as the shuffle of actual zombies.

“Pass Me By” is the only real standout track of the album. Through a combination of slide guitar and the most varied pitches Stoquert incorporates in the album, the song marries the sounds of depression era blues with the twisted narration of the zombie character. This, followed by the last by “Last Day,” which is an interesting attempt at introducing a more intricate beat to the EP, still leaves the listener lacking something. The closing number, “I’ll See You Again,” bookends the album with a song that does the one thing the album does not need: a slow, acoustic song.

Run For Your Life is an interesting idea, if nothing else, but is made slow and unexciting by the meandering tempo while Stoquert hides behind a muffling voice effect. The end result is an EP that could be an interesting little collection for Halloween, but is too indiscernible for most of the year.