SC Distributon

When Three Mile Pilot ? the legendary Southern California trio that spawned Pinback and The Black Heart Procession ? returned to active duty in 2010 with The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten, it ended a 13-year silence from the band. The album was amazing, and the hope was we wouldn?t have to wait another dozen years for more. The brand new Maps EP delivers on the evolution of The Inevitable Past, but also finds the group returning to some of their exploratory roots in a unique and refreshing way. Traditionally EPs serve as stop-gaps between albums, often a collection of toss-offs and leftover b-sides. Maps rejects this notion as it?s filled with some of the strongest songs in Three Mile Pilot?s remarkable 20-year history.

Are we really here? Is this really happening? When we say that we never thought this day would come, we REALLY mean it. The rumor of a new Three Mile Pilot album has been circulating for over a decade, further fueling the mystery and mythology that has swirled around the San Diego trio since the 1997 release of what was thought to be their swan song, the enormously influential Another Desert, Another Sea. That brings us to the aptly-named The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten, the first Three Mile Pilot album in 13 years. While in many ways it is their most uncompromising album since their inception, it also happens to be their most accessible. While Pinback and The Black Heart Procession were obviously influenced by 3MP in their early days, the inverse can now be heard, with many of the songs on The Inevitable Past bearing the unmistakable and inevitable stamps of those 3MP-related bands. This circular influence is what makes the album so brilliant; instead of a proper hiatus, 3MP's progression was charted vicariously through its members' other groups. As such, The Inevitable Past makes good on the promising glimpses heard through a long but breathless wait. Yes, we are really here!

In anticipation of the long (long...long) overdue new album coming in 2010, the mighty Three Mile Pilot have recorded two new songs for this limited edition single. Right away you're reminded of The Black Heart Procession/Pinback connection with "Planets," an unusually upbeat and infectious slice of weird pop perfection. B-side "Grey Clouds" is a darker, sprawling gem recalling the band's earlier days, when they were one of the most risky and experimental bands on Geffen Records. Strictly limited to 2,000 copies ? and nowhere near enough to satiate those of us who have waited with baited breath for a dozen years in eager anticipation of a new album ? "Planets"/"Grey Clouds" only builds on that hopeful anticipation. Any new Three Mile Pilot would have been something worth celebrating, but the fact that these songs are so undeniably great makes the thought of waiting a mere six months feel like another twelve years. It's actually a wonderful feeling.