Tucked away within one of Seattle’s quietest neighborhoods just east of Discovery Park, a single-family home is the residence and DIY studio of several Seattle indie projects: Big Buddy, Street Hockey Champ, Bobby Baritone, and Drench Fries. Collectively known as Scum Dungeon Records, the members of these bands all live together in close quarters. But, in stark contrast to their chosen house name, these friends organize some of the most wholesome house shows in the city, where they cook homemade bread and play discreet acoustic sets with event descriptions like, “rock and roll isn’t dead, it’s just in a quiet family neighborhood at the moment and needs to be respectful of its neighbors so it’s going to chill out for a little.”  And while chilled-out and brief at only three songs in length, Ballad Salad is the most recent effort from this bunch, and is also among their best work. Self-recorded mostly at home in Magnolia with some drum-tracking and mixing outsourced to engineer Trevor Gallo at San Diego’s Studio West, the EP demonstrates sonic growth as well as the impressive creative force that this group is capable of.

Primarily the solo venture of multi-instrumentalist and Big Buddy songwriter Levi Nattrass, Drench Fries dates back several years as a dorm-room recording project, evidenced by the 2016 bandcamp single “Snow In April: The Sad Tale of a California Boy in a Massachusetts World.” Three years later and relocated into a grey Seattle world, Nattrass has enlisted assistance on guitars from Matthew “Rat” Fildey (songwriter and guitarist of Bobby Baritone) and Josh Kazebee (songwriter and guitarist of Big Buddy). Ballad Salad was then mastered by Connor Gilmore (songwriter and guitarist of Street Hockey Champ). And as Nattrass plays drums in Street Hockey Champ and synth in Bobby Baritone, Gilmore and Fildey will be returning the favor by playing in the Drench Fries live ensemble on tour this month to SXSW. Don’t be ashamed if you need to reread this paragraph to untangle the collaborative web that’s happening here.

Opening with a patient drum beat and a welcoming mixture of synth and acoustic guitar, Ballad Salad immediately drew me into Nattrass’s headspace within the first few moments of “Fool.” Coolly delivering simple but heartfelt lyrics — “I feel nothing new, an emptiness I’ve grown accustomed to / my heart’s a flickering light, a bad bulb on a neon sign” — Nattrass develops a thoughtful sense of longing which permeates throughout the EP in a beautiful way. This wistful feeling is elaborated by stunning guitar work from the duo of Fildey and Kazebee on the opener, as well as Kazebee on the closing track, “Geese.” Leaving room for Kazebee’s slide swells, “Geese” leans into a slow ¾ shuffle, flawlessly stretching the tempo to deliver lyrics which feel like a thesis statement of sorts: “I don’t know where home is, but I know this ain’t it / broken to pieces in the cold evening mist.” And sandwiched between these two tracks is the equally lovely “Texaco,” a sad acoustic ballad from the perspective of a contemplative touring musician, which may be the strongest track from a songwriting perspective.

Like the playful sadness of a great Darwin Deez song meeting the restraint and twang of the Tweedy songbook from the Golden Smog/early-Wilco era, Drench Fries finds a sweet spot of catchiness and charm with Ballad Salad that many seek but don’t often hit with such precision. And while the lyrics are melancholic and tinged with self-depreciation, they aren’t overly so. They ultimately exude a comfort and familiarity that beckons for repeat listens. The only thing really left to be desired is more material, and that’s a good thing. Between Ballad Salad and the previous years of Scum Dungeon recordings, Nattrass and the Scum Dungeon ensemble are quickly establishing themselves amongst the most prolific and thoughtful musicians in Seattle’s vibrant music scene.