Note before the review: I have graciously received a number of promo albums from bands and record labels as of late. This will be the forum in which I post my reviews of them. I will be using the star system, with four stars being the highest amount any one album can receive. And, in the spirit of favoring the hometown bands (but not really), I am going to start this off with Elsinore’s new EP (Note in the note: Lead singer and guitarist Ryan Groff was nice enough to drop this EP off while I was at work. No matter what you think about their music, you cannot deny that they are trying hard, and I couldn’t have appreciated the gesture more. Thanks Ryan.)

Elsinore: “The General EP,” ***1/2

Elsinore has undergone quite a change since their debut album “Nothing for Design.” The Champaign band’s rootsy, acoustic-based sound has morphed into a more powerful, electric style, while still retaining a lot of the Americana sense.

It seems like the transition has not been without its growing pains though. The band’s second full-length, still unreleased at this point, has been promised to be put out a number of times, and I guess it will happen when it happens. In the meantime, Elsinore has put out the three-song “The General EP” to help tide fans over and to make new ones as they head out on tour.

The EP starts out with what may be their best song to date, “The General.” The guitar riff, while a bit simplistic, is powerful, and the rest of the band’s playing creates a rather unique groove that is propulsive as well as agile. From there comes lead singer and guitarist Ryan Groff’s voice (one of Elsinore’s strongest suits) kicks in, and the song just takes off. In the past, the rest of the band has, at times, come off as a simply good backing band for Groff, and while his vocals are fantastic, the band (which includes bassist Chris Eitel, keyboardist Mark Woolwine and drummer Dave Pride) is gelling and becoming more of a unit (complete with a harmony-laden interlude in the middle). It is a gem, and one can only hope the band is chasing whatever they found for it. Kudos.

Elsinore is going to be hard pressed to find songs as good as “The General” though. Both of the other songs, while still very good (”Antonymity” is a very good link between the band of old and the band of new, and a stripped down “Wooden Houses” is held up by a simple piano and Groff’s once-again great vocals), cannot live up to the title track. The 3.5 star rating is a testament to how good the title track is, but the band needs to work hard if they are going to craft a 12-song album as good as this. Best of luck.