This trio of Pennsylvanians takes the modernity of indie rock to a new level. After singer/guitarist/pianist Josh Ostrander and drummer Greg Lyons left their old band in search of something with more freedom, they ended up working fulltime as landscapers. Not exactly what they had in mind. But finally joining up with ex-CKY bassist Vern Zaborowski, Eastern Conference Champions was born and ready to get recording. The band's Home Away EP took a couple listens to fully appreciate, but only one to realize the talent and creativity. Ostrander's voice is the making of this new indie rock generation of whiny and scratchy vocals, which I will admit usually turns me off. But, unlike his fellow genre cohorts he doesn't put those vocals to shame with tiresome melodies. Rather, he uses his voice as an advantage to take risks with the overall sound.

The EP starts off strong with arguably the band's best track, "The Box." The intro is inventive and introduces Ostrander's voice with ease. The sound is laidback yet passionate at the same time, making it hard to tell whether he is just singing lazily or creating something that pushes the envelope of typicality. It becomes apparent further into the album that it is the latter. The lyrics are also anything but boring. At first, it's hard to concentrate on anything but his voice, but when the lyrics come through, they come through as subtly intense and surprising. The writing is really all over the place, almost like an attack between Ostrander's morality and inner demons. The instrumental abilities are undoubtedly on target as well, with the keyboard allowing a lot of the tracks to flow easier while also complementing the strangeness of his singing voice. This album definitely keeps you guessing.