Ahhhh, I love surprises. First it was about ten degrees warmer yesterday than the weather report said…and then I found out Nu Clear Classmate have a new EP waiting in the wings. The first two songs from Lick The Star (out on April 9) are up on the duo’s MySpace. “Causeless Pain” lurches forward with distorted synth-work burying the vocals in it’s path. Nu Clear Classmate manage to add a few bright keyboard touches to brighten this thing up a bit, but it definitely does a good job summing up the band’s self-proclaimed “suicide pop.” “Blank World” one-ups it though – it’s less crushing, substituting grinding synths for bright electronics and bouncy drums. Whereas “Causeless Pain” sounds a little soul smashing, “Blank World” comes off as downright eye-opening especially as the singing gets more and more starry eyed. I wouldn’t be too surprised to find out these two put out an excellent EP.nu