Carnivores: Prom Night" b/w "Georgia Power Company""

The latest installment of the Earl's live 7-inch series offers up two cuts by Atlanta's premiere arty pop younglings, Carnivores. For the A-side, "Prom Night," recorded in November 2011, gives rise to a psychedelic urgency the song never possessed in its original guise. Full of spontaneous energy, it shows off the tight chemistry the group wields when on stage and lost in the moment. The flip side, "Georgia Power Company" (recorded last March), materializes with a dense, cacophonous sound. The song takes shape as a primitive, chaotic number, driven by distortion and abstraction, which shrouds the music's more recognizable pop features - a quality that's always been among Carnivores' assets. Considering the group's catalogue, this single is hardly essential, but it does shows off how much the band excels live - something that has never been showcased on wax until now. (3 out of 5 stars)