Hi, everyone. Melthony Lontano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of two new EPs, not one, not one EP, two EPs from Paris, Texas. We have, They Left Me With the Sword, and They Left Me With a Gun.

Here we have, like I said, a couple of EPs from up and coming LA music duo, Paris, Texas, who are not from Paris, Texas, from what I understand. So don't say that. Don't say it. But yeah, they have been on a bit of a run as of late, building up a very admirable and organic buzz off of a couple of independently released records, Boy Anonymous, and also 2023's Mid Air.

Now, admittedly, I was not a big fan of Mid Air. Reviewed it, didn't so much care for it, didn't like it. But I could at least see something unique in what Paris, Texas was attempting on this project with them combined combining modern strains of both rap and punk at the same time and doing it in a way that clearly isn't desperate for commercial appeal. Again, doing it independently, it's commendable, even if on that record, the producing and rapping and songwriting felt pretty subpar a lot of the time.

Still, rap rock fusions, generally speaking, are pretty difficult to pull off, at least not without reminding listeners of all the times that it happened where it was bad. But despite this learning curve, Paris, Texas has still been able to build a fan base and also catch the ears and attention of some pretty significant artists. After all, they are touring with Tyler, the creator this year, behind his Chromakopia record, which I think makes total sense because there is something about Paris, Texas's sound that does have an early, wild, rowdy, rude, odd future energy.

Now, it's been a few years since the release of Mid Air at this point, but maybe Paris, Texas wasn't fully ready to go into new album mode. But simultaneously with this tour in front of them and with it having been a minute, it might not have made sense to go through 2025 without at least some new stuff. So why not two related EPs. We could do that. That's a thing that makes sense to do, especially since I'm hearing improvements on many fronts with these tracks, a wider array of influences, too.

So let's start with They Left Me With the Sword, which is the first of these two EPs.

And after a short intro cut featuring a quirked-up British guy, he pops in and out of these two records, appearing and disappearing like he's some hype man. Yeah, after he passes by, we have the first full song on this record, "Dogma 25", which is this edgy, angry, adlib-heavy trap banger, almost bringing early Tyler or Sheck Wes-type energy, especially with those forced raspy vocals pulls right off the bat.

Yeah, on some level, it may be trying a bit too hard on the delivery front, but I will say, I think in terms of the beat, the song structure, the flows, this is a better and tighter performance than a lot of what was on there. Immediately after this, we make a pretty quick detour into much moodier territory on the track "Red Eyes and Blue Hearts", where we have these despondent guitar loops, auto-crooned vocals, as well as some psychedelic effects here and there as well.

But even though Paris, Texas is doing something on these tracks that isn't quite as explosive, they're still maintaining their character, their personality, and delivering some pretty sharp melodies as well. There's still some bite to the drums and guitars, and I like these flirty but funny bars. "If I'm being honest, keeping it 100 / Girl, you came up out the blue" and then popping in with an adlib to say "Because hundreds is blue."

I'm explaining the line to you. Here's what the blue reference means in the line. Get it now? Which was a pretty hilarious aside.

Following this, the energy level pops back up with the song "Tantrum", where we have more aggro beats, grimy vibes, and hypnotic flows. The horror film synth hits are a pretty nice touch, too. The ridiculous one-liners throughout the song also match the over-the-top energy on the track. The song overall is simple, it's in your face, it's blunt, and it's direct like anything punk-related should be.

But then after this, we have another switch up "Holy Spinal Fluid", whose crisp danceable beats and warped instrumentation. It sounds like a weird version of a block party jam from 20 years ago. It sounds very hype. It sounds very fun-loving. It sounds very outside in the sun. Considering how punky the duo's music usually is, it's surprising they pull this sound off as well as they do. But they do, and they lace in tons of preposterous bars like, "She fucking on the GOAT / Bestiality, took a tab, now I got a new reality." But yeah, I'm really eating this one up, you could say.

Following this, there's another standout on the EP, "Infinite", and with all of its throaty rasped up refrains on the song, it sounds like I'm listening to a punked out Future remix. If there could be such a thing and it were hype as hell, like the staccato guitar riffs and cords throughout the song. I don't know. They just have a seriously intense punch to them that I feel like a lot of songs on Mid Air were missing because that record, while it was bringing together elements of rap and rock, it wasn't appealing to me in the way either genre would. And yet tracks like this, in my opinion, are finding a great way to balance each one so that they appeal as rap songs and rock songs too, simultaneously.

The final track, "El Camino" on the EP, I think is also a pretty prime example of that. I didn't see this explicitly in the writer credits on the song. Maybe I am going out on a limb here, but I feel like this track is a bit of a Nirvana "In Bloom" interpolation. There's something about the chord changes on the hook and the vocal melodies during that part that just feel way too close. Too close to have not been obviously inspired. I don't think this is to the track's detriment or anything. I mean, if it is consciously or subconsciously, like in interpolation here, I think it's a pretty cool incorporation. It does have a weird, psychedelic, grungy type of appeal to it while simultaneously working in these rap verses that I think go over very well, each bar is chockful of charisma, and it's clear that Paris, Texas, while there is a lot of skill in what they do, they're not taking themselves too seriously.

So that's the last track on the first EP. Let's move on to the second one, which, yeah, while it is its own batch of tracks on its own project, it's not entirely disconnected. In fact, in many ways, it feels like a continuation, not only in terms of similar production aesthetics and also those vocal passages from that weird British guy, but also there are some references on "El Camino" to fame and success that literally transfer over onto the next song on the second EP, where the duo is essentially writing this rap rock parody about success in the music industry. "I got a drug, attention / I'm the plug, get a mention / Give me your throat for a tag / Give me your soul for a bag."

And on the rest of this Gun EP, if there is anything separating it from the Sword EP, it's that I think the duo embraces their rock influences a bit more as well as their absurd sense of humor. As the flows on "Twin Geeker" are absolutely goofy over these very direct muted guitar licks, some wailing guitar leads too. Meanwhile, the flows on top of these guitars feel loose and chaotic like something out of a Lil B song. But then suddenly when the chorus comes around, the whole thing tightens up and we have this bright, shimmering hook, which, of course, I'm loving that variety. I'm loving that contrast.

The track "Stripper Song" is loaded with these squeaky, weird flows that are honestly hilarious. I love how nearly every song on both of these EPs brings a different performance style, a different voice, a different something.

Meanwhile, the track "Mudbone" features drum beats and riffs that have almost a post-punky feel to them. That is before we get hit with this super melodic indie rock chorus.

Following this, "H A L O", has a similar mix of influences, but the instrumentation, the vocals, have much more of a ghoulish approach. Yeah, this one gets a bit spooky ooky ooky. And while, yeah, there are a lot of tracks between both of these EPs where Paris, Texas are getting quite silly, these projects are not without their more reflective moments like the closing song here, "No Strings", which is a very raw, acoustic ballad that sees the duo reflecting the state of their lives at this point in music, where they don't really have committed partners or kids or a family. While they are doing really well for themselves with their music, their families want them to be leading more, I guess, traditional lives where they are raising children. And while this track doesn't necessarily come through with a definite answer on that front in terms of what they want to do, they are a bit perplexed, emotionally and personally, while standing at this crossroads, really asking, what do we do?

But yeah, honestly, despite having somewhat low expectations, given that I wasn't really a big fan of Mid Air, these two EPs, for what they are, they really floored me. I feel like both projects do a lot with a little, and Paris, Texas as a duo are getting a lot better fine-tuning their skills when it comes to dabbling in a very wide array of influences and genres.

Because again, their past works, to me, felt like they were touching down on a lot of ideas and a lot of different reference points, but maybe not necessarily embodying them super well or combining them as effectively as they could. It finally feels like on these two projects here, they are really starting to get there. I mean, actually, I would argue that they are there because on an individual single full song level for track after track after track, they're really dishing out bangers this time around.

I mean, the flow and progression of these two projects is a little random and all over the place, and obviously, they're fragmented given that they're split up into two different EPs. But altogether, I feel like we got at least a pretty sick album's worth of tracks on these two releases. And once more, it is really refreshing to hear fusions of rap music and rock music that are genuinely good and not corny as fuck.

But yeah, these two EPs are creative. They're fun, they're wild, they're out there, they're funny, they're audacious, which when you put them together, you could say I'm feeling about a light to decent 8 on both of them.

Anthony Fantano, Paris, Texas, Forever.