The last Salteens album was released way back in 2003, so you’d be forgiven if you thought the Vancouver indie pop combo was dead and buried, or at least missing in action. That’s not entirely false, either—the band admits they didn’t really record anything for four years. But since the beginning of the new year, a reformed Salteens have been trying a new release tactic: instead of a new album, they plan to release two-track EPs online every month. The best part of it all is that the tracks will only cost you an e-mail address (presumably so they can add you to a mailing list of some sort).

“Hallowed Ways” is a fine reintroduction to the world of the Salteens; though the band are unlikely to return to the super-upbeat days of 2000’s Short Term Memories, the hooks and the horns are still around and it’s just as sweet as ever. Considering Scott Walker and company just spent a couple of weeks polishing up some demos, the final product sounds pretty good.

So far, there are two EPs out on the Salteens site for January and February, though the fruits of March’s labour will apparently be late in coming, no thanks to a flooded studio. It’s almost time for the April EP to come out too, so hopefully this doesn’t represent a major bump in the release schedule.