!!! follows up the tough and political Louden Up Now with an EP of covers that on first glance looks like a misprint. Covering Magnetic Fields' escapist anthem "Take Ecstasy With Me" and Nate Dogg's party rap jam "Get Up" could either be genius or folly for a band as serious and cerebral as !!! seems to be. Well, put in a vote for genius because !!! has pulled off something special here. The band takes over both songs completely and easily casts aside any possible claims of novelty. "Take Ecstasy With Me" gives the often stifling Magnetic Fields approach a widescreen scope that makes the song sound like an anthem for an early-'90s Madchester summer, a perfect blend of electronics and guitars, melody and dancefloor motion that none of the Madchester bands (apart from the Happy Mondays at times) quite could manage. The Nate Dogg cover isn't as promising initially as the band seems to be just covering the song straight up with drawled vocals and a lazy tempo. About halfway through the ten-minute track things start to get interesting as the beat becomes more insistent and the guitars start to swirl, culminating in a staggering section with brutally phased and manipulated vocals, shards of synths, and waves of guitars. From there the song becomes something more sinister and real, as tough as anything from Louden Up Now. The EP shows that !!! aren't afraid of anything and have what it takes to be mentioned in the same breath as the bands that inspired them. That's quite a feat for what seems to be just a goofy covers single. ~ Tim Sendra