Flesh EP

Andrew Osenga loves outside-the-box musical endeavors. We're talking about a guy whose latest EP—Flesh—is the third entry in a four-EP project called Heart & Soul, Flesh & Bone, and who not too long ago released a concept album about a guy named Leonard the Lonely Astronaut. Flesh is a damn good time and plays like a loving ode to the glory days of 1990s-era alternative music. You won't be alone in feeling like the hooks and melodies of “Fight Like a Man” are a nod to the Gin Blossoms playbook, and it won't be hard to hear shades of Dinosaur Jr.'s clever hooks—not to mention rip-roaring guitars and thunderous drums—in “Black Cloud.” “I Was a Cynic” lands somewhere between Jimmy Eat World and GRMLN with its fuzzy guitars, pogo-inducing beats and repeated shouts of “Come on! Come on! Come on!” It's a hell of a lot of fun. Thematically, Osenga weaves these six tunes together by focusing on having hope, fighting back and gleefully giving your struggles the middle finger instead of letting them squash the life out of you.