Saboteur's songs are loud, well crafted and instantly quotable.

Saboteur harkens back to a day in the not too distant past when lyrical intelligence and musical proficiency was not the exception in punk rock. They blend the existing facets of their other musical projects with tough guy pop punk and socio-political lyrics. The songs are loud, well crafted and instantly quotable. Influences range from Gang of Four to Rocket From the Crypt, and they're recommended if you like those bands as well as The Clash, Alkaline Trio and Queens of the Stone Age.

Saboteur began as a two-piece rock outfit writing songs in a Dallas loft in 2003. Angular punk rhythms barreling underneath melodies about the socio-economic state of the times filled the bomb shelter turned rehearsal space. Justin Wilson, singer and songwriting guru for rock beast Red Animal War, and Steve Visneau, drummer and spirit of punk-speedsters Slowride, were fresh off European tours that shared dates. After bouncing more than a few ideas off each other one night in Amsterdam, songs poured forth. The groups were far beyond the mark of "brother bands," booking tours and local shows together since their conception and releasing a split EP on Deep Elm Records in 2002.

Early in 2004, the songs took shape and called for more exploration of tonal dimensions, and some of the arrangements needed sharpening. Rob Marchant, the bassist and logic of Slowride, enlisted himself to lay down the bass carpet and tighten the band's structure. The result is an impassioned machine oiled with the fervor only friends can make. The band recorded seven songs with Deedle LaCour, who had produced both Slowride and Red Animal War before. End Sounds, an Austin label headed by Jonathan Gill, heard said songs and asked to be the party responsible for giving Saboteur its first official release. What you'll hear on Saboteur's self-titled EP is a culmination of razor-sharp songwriting and drop-kick rhythms. Saboteur takes the rage and lyrical vision of Red Animal War and fuses it with the streamlined power of Slowride for a release packed with explosive songs and well-crafted artwork to match.