Do you miss The Kiss Offs? Well, Black Lipstick aren't quite the same thing, but they're as close as you're likely to get. This new project, which pairs ex-Kissers Off Phillip Niemeyer and Travis Higdon with new cohorts Elizabeth Nottingham and Kelly Martinez, drops the oldgroup's new-wave influences (which always hinged on vocalist/keyboard player Katey Jones' participation) in favor of a simpler, jangly indie rock sound. You'll hear The Fall's influence in the simple, catchy riffs andrepetition-intensive lyrics, which also capitalize on Niemeyer's petulant rent boy vocal style; give him a few pints and he'd be a younger, whinier Mark E. Smith. Without keyboards dominating the mix, Niemeyer and Higdon's guitar work is free to take center stage, and songs like "The Dawnof a New Error" and "Our Gilded Thrones" showcase it nicely, leaving the group in a comfortably continuum between Television's angular pop efforts and the Velvet Underground's hazy sophistication. However, more varietywouldn't hurt; after only five songs, Niemeyer's singing begins to work against the band, if only because he generally plays to expectations -- you expect him to be snide and a bit off-key, and he seldom reaches beyond thatlevel of performance. For an EP, that's fine, but hopefully the group will reach a little further beyond their collective grasp when it's time to record a full-length.