Austin quartet The Sour Notes have highlighted pitch-perfect pop tunes across two excellent albums – last year’s The Meat of the Fruit EP and this year’s debut LP, Received in Bitterness. Their new 7” only pushes that credit further, but dips into some expertly and unexpectedly heavier territory. A-Side “Never Mix Never Worry” announces those intentions with the immediate pummel of the chorus, the hard-lined pop bounce that opens to match Jared Boulanger’s high-hitting trill at first subtly meshed with a slant of distortion, which then ricochets full force. The teasing build ultimately explodes, but never loses its melodic center even in the wave of climax. “Rose Puzzles” falls much more in line with the group’s established sound, the pull of Boulanger’s sweetly tortured vocals leading the tune. Yet even here, the band turns up the pulse in release with the lyrics - “Where no roles confine us, Where no laws define us” – surging to the guitar barrage close. With yet another new album ready to drop next January, The Sour Notes remain one of the brightest, and probably most under-appreciated, groups in town. - Doug Freeman (Austin Sound)