Acoustic EP

Album Review

Accompanying himself solely on acoustic guitar, Mike Farley revisits four songs from his 2002 album Blue and one from its 2000 predecessor, halfaworldaway. The intention of the "unplugged" format is usually to give a different interpretation to material otherwise known in a rock band arrangement, but Farley continues to sing in an aggressive style, as if he's still trying to be heard over a band, and he strums furiously. This may be because of the sentiments in the songs. Blue is a collection full of romantic separation and, as the title of the leadoff song puts it, "17 Regrets." Clearly, the emotions are still raw. The final track, "Someplace Else," on the other hand, is from halfaworldaway, an album the overall concept for which can be summarized as "it ain't me, babe." "Someplace Else," however, is one song in which a romantic partner seems to be overcoming the narrator's reluctance to get involved. Coming after the breakup songs from Blue here, it gives the EP a hopeful air.