By Bri Arnwine Lynn Dials had a vision for rock music and it didn’t just end in his mind. When he decided to pursue life as a rocker he formed his very own band, The Splits, and soon began working on writing music for the group. While sexy bassist/vocalist Nikki Cave has been with The Splints from the beginning, the group has had more drummers than groupies, with more than 13 skin beaters used and abused. Originally from the Washington, DC area, Lynn and Nikki (along with their drummer du jour) relocated for a short while in 2005 to Memphis where they eventually signed to Lightening Rock Records and recorded their debut EP. Dude, this disc was recorded in only six hours! It has seven indie-punk tracks that have Lynn and Nikki splitting vocal credits right down the middle. The guitar-bass-drum format used on the EP (with drumming performed by Helmut Ploderer) suits the catchy, hard hitting tunes with stand out tracks including “To the City,” “In the Blood” and “Stillborn.” While Lynn performs lead vocals on most of the songs and is largely responsible for the indie-punk sound found throughout the EP, Nikki Cave brings a slightly harder and very sexy element to songs “All Day” and “Ain’t It a Shame.” Nikki’s hot voice alone changes the dynamic of the group. The combination of two different types of vocalists within one large group gives the trio wider appeal and has the ability to expose their music to a larger audience. And though the contributions of Lynn and Nikki is the greatest feature on the album, Helmut Ploderer on drums. Ploderer ties all the pieces together so nicely that it is hard to imagine The Splints without him. Having moved back to the Washington DC area, The Splits are now, in fact, without Helmut. The latest drummer to join the fray is Robert Cooper and he has managed to make himself at home within the group. Drummer problems aside, Lynn and Nikki are so strong a force together that they can take The Splints to the top all by themselves if necessary. But the ride should be nicer now that they’ve found someone to share the ride with.