Inner Beauty contest, a fivesome from Long Beach, CA, released a great 6 song EP back in 2005. But what have they been up to since?

It turns out they've been in the studio on and off, and have finally posted some of the newest material. They recently posted a demo of their 9 minute rock epic Your Hands on their MySpace profile. Starting slow with gentle synthesizers, nylon guitar, and deceptively simple lyrics ("Your hands are soft and warm..."), the song turns the corner just after the four minute mark and doesn't turn back. As it approaches the ending, we hear a huge electric guitar playing a longing melody as the drums give us the distinct sensation of blasting off into space.

And just when we think it must have reached its climax, we hear over-the-phone-style-distorted vocals come in with a single-not melody, putting words to complement the yearning in the melody of the guitar ("To respirate and find the very oxygen that fuels my every move has also traveled deep inside your lungs and exited as sighs, to signal burdens buried deep within the mind...")

Overall it is a unique listening experience. Certainly not radio friendly, and not well-suited for casual-listening background music; the songwriter wants your full attention, to take you on a journey of romance and agony, desperation and joy.

We eagerly await the release of this along with the other songs they've been crafting in their secret indie rock laboratories.