In addition to Gill, the band included Scott Miller on guitar and lead vocals, Nancy Becker on keyboards and Fred Juhos on bass.

[8][1] Earlier that week, on November 24, Omnivore reissued the French compilation Dead Center as an omnibus release on CD, encompassing material from both EPs and additional tracks.

Mason wrote, "Anyone who was a kid during the '50s and '60s space race had been told by no less an authority than Scientific American that by 1984, we'd all be living on the moon and driving personal spaceships, and the fact that we're not is, on some level, still something of a disappointment.

"[12] The Michigan Daily, in a 1984 review, called Distortion "near-perfect vaguely retrograde pop, with consummately whiny adolescent vocals by Scott Miller and gorgeous tunes by the same.

"[14] Pointing to producer Michael Quercio as a "neo-psychedelic whimsy-pop superstar," the review also cited the "addictive melody" and "lyrics of the century" in "Nine Lives to Rigel Five," and called "Shark Pretty" a "thumping must at any party.

"[15] Conversely, AllMusic critic Ned Raggett wrote that on Distortion, Scott Miller "practically defines winsome vocal sweetness spiked with bite," calling the EP "some beautiful art pop," and "one set of treats after another.

"[13] Raggett added that "the band collectively put in great performances," crediting Dave Gill's "rumbling drum punch" and Nancy Becker's keyboard lead on "Nine Lives to Rigel Five,"[13] which another reviewer called "gloriously cheesy synth-pop riffs.

[16] Game Theory's 2013 reunion performance, a memorial tribute to Scott Miller, included "The Red Baron," and the set closed with the upbeat "Too Late for Tears" and "Shark Pretty.