Listen to Commonwealth Choir’s Shirtless EP, see them Thursday at North Star Bar

If you already bought tickets to see them at North Star Bar this Thursday, this might be old news…but the new EP from swaggery Doylestown rockers Commonwealth Choir totally rules. After a week of exclusive availability to ticketholders, Shirtless was released for streaming and purchase on Bandcamp yesterday afternoon. By now you might have heard their song “Rest”, the smashing rocker the band is best known for at this point. The good news is the other three tracks on the EP hold up to its promise. “Neither” is carried by sweet vintage keyboard tones and a driving midtempo beat. Next up, the title track is a jagged smash-and-grab singalong, a boisterous anthem about escaping the humdrum monotony of small town bars set to rumbling amplifers and a hollered-out refrain: “I believe that I should get the hell out.” And of course the jangling exit music, the poppy yet moody “Movie Song”; this band can emulate both Elvises – Presley and Costello – to great effect. Commonwealth Choir plays this Thursday night, September 26th at the North Star Bar, opening for Twin Forks, the new acousticana based project from singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional. Find more information and tickets here.