For those not in the know Teer, who hail from Florida first got together in 1992 and released their self titled debut album through Now & Then/Frontiers in 2000. On the back of this the band played the Gods of Rock Festival at Wigan Maximes in the same year. The band then decided to take a hiatus in 2001.

Regrouping in 2004, Teer recorded this self financed EP as an introduction to their music, primarily with the recent Tyketto trek in mind, as the band had picked up the opening slot on the UK leg of the tour.

Opening the EP is the mid tempo 'Breakin' Down'. Built primarily around a staccato guitar riff backed by new boy Rob Devore's rumbling bass line the song is a good indication that Teer 2004 is building on the foundations of their debut album with a strong melody and some fluid lead work, courtesy of Nathan Boone, during the short solo. The second new song on offer is 'World Gone Insane'. To this reviewers mind, the strongest of the new tracks on offer here. Once again mid temp in pace, but with some great drumming and a slightly punchier guitar sound that its predecessor, the song combines intelligent lyrics dealing with the current world political climate coupled with a strong musical backdrop which proves to be a winning combination.

The final new track on the EP is 'This Is The Life'. A slower number that the previous tracks the song suffers slightly from a poor mix with the guitars way too low down, however the song is well constructed and as with all of these songs the vocal melody proves strong. The high point of the track is the harmony guitar parts midway through the solo where Boone & Shane French showcase there soloing skills.

For anyone lucky enough to own the aforementioned self titled Teer debut, then the final two live tracks on offer will already be familiar. First up is 'Romeo', without a doubt my favourite song on the debut. This song has everything a rock song should have, strong melodies, heavy guitars and pounding drums. In the live setting the song works equally as well, with the catchy hook proving easy to sing along to. 'Beggin', was always one of the heavier tracks on the debut album and in a live setting the song almost takes on a metallic, rather than melodic rock feel, with the pinched guitar harmonics and driving riffs bringing the song to life. It should also be noted, for the purists out there, that these two live tracks are presented completely raw with no studio overdubs or re-records to patch up any faults... rare for live tracks these days.

The only downside to this EP is in the production, which is at times quite poor, but in all honesty what we have here is a demo, rather than finished product,  highlighting the direction in which Teer are heading. Certainly with the basic quality of songs like 'World Gone Insane' and 'Breakin' Down' the material appears to be there for Teer to record an album as good as (if not better) than their debut.

The Bullets & Beer EP is only available through the Teer website so check out www.teerband.com for further info

Let us know your views on 'Bullets & Beer'

Track List

Breakin' Down
World Gone Insane
This Is the Life
Romeo (Live)
Beggin' (Live)

Line Up

Dan Michaels -Vocals
Shane French - Lead & Rhythm Guitar
Nathan Boone - Lead & Rhythm Guitar/Vocals
Rob DeVore - Bass/Vocals
John Teer - Drums