Ee

Capital Plans (Actually)

By Angie Vo
Published: January 4th, 2007 | 8:08pm

A sense of departure pervades Capital Plans, the third album by San Francisco—based band Ee. The Asian-American group, composed of founding member, guitarist, and vocalist Tobin Mori; lead guitarist and keyboardist Sooyoung Park (who was also a member of Seam); bassist Che Chou; and drummer Peter Nguyen create heartening tunes that will resonate with the mildly malcontent or those just looking for a slow-burning song.

From the title track's musings that "this town is just too small for one more day," to "Steven's Song" (about a friend who died of cancer), and closing track "1 Horse Town/Anelace," the seven-song release brings together a sense of weariness about current surroundings and situations, yet fearing the unknowns of change. Perhaps the band should follow its own advice, as detailed in the song "Small Fry," and break off the funk and shake it down in another place for a while. Especially with its pedigree, the potential for this group shouldn't be as frustratingly unfulfilled.