New review at www.soundaslanguage.com
In the midst of the high-definition, words per minute and frames per second lives we lead, it's easy to forget that it's the things we don't say that often leave the most lasting impressions. No matter our language or vocabulary, it's the non-verbal cues and clues we give that unravel all the words to unmask our true intentions or dispositions. The most poignant of speeches can be reduced to mere background chatter by an unkempt appearance and anemic voice. Staring at her tits while complimenting her wityou see what I mean.
Music is much the same way. Assuming the shoegaze position for an entire live set can crumble even the biggest wall of sound. Many otherwise great songs have been ruined by the likes of an amateur vocalist, and vice versa. McAllen, Texas' They Mean Us side-step at least one of the above pitfalls and prove themselves as masters of the unspeakable. Their titanic album Friendship Lottery is truly one of the great communicators in the Instrumental genre that is tarnished by repetition, imitation, and for some, stagnation.
Typical to the genre, They Mean Us take a little longer to get their point across ("Pickle Seals" is the shortest of the six tracks clocking in just shy of the four minute mark), but by no means overstay their welcome. Rather than spend needless bars crafting celestial crescendo, They Mean Us rely on deft shifts of theme, tempo, style and perspective to draw the listener in. The sheer grace of it all is what keeps you there. Whimsical, That's Your Fire era Aloha-esque vibraphone phrases, intricate American Football style guitar picking, rolling prog-rock bass lines, warm cello and tasteful electronics: Friendship Lottery takes the best elements of the past decade of music, fuses them, layers it, and executes it perfectly.
They Mean Us and Friendship Lottery bring to the table a peerless brand of post-ish rock without the drama, and math-rock without the geometrics. It's less filling, and tastes great.
Genre: Instrumental/Math-Rock
RIYL: Toe, The Six Parts Seven, Dinomania
Label: Self-Released/Look Again Media
In the midst of the high-definition, words per minute and frames per second lives we lead, it's easy to forget that it's the things we don't say that often leave the most lasting impressions. No matter our language or vocabulary, it's the non-verbal cues and clues we give that unravel all the words to unmask our true intentions or dispositions. The most poignant of speeches can be reduced to mere background chatter by an unkempt appearance and anemic voice. Staring at her tits while complimenting her wityou see what I mean.
Music is much the same way. Assuming the shoegaze position for an entire live set can crumble even the biggest wall of sound. Many otherwise great songs have been ruined by the likes of an amateur vocalist, and vice versa. McAllen, Texas' They Mean Us side-step at least one of the above pitfalls and prove themselves as masters of the unspeakable. Their titanic album Friendship Lottery is truly one of the great communicators in the Instrumental genre that is tarnished by repetition, imitation, and for some, stagnation.
Typical to the genre, They Mean Us take a little longer to get their point across ("Pickle Seals" is the shortest of the six tracks clocking in just shy of the four minute mark), but by no means overstay their welcome. Rather than spend needless bars crafting celestial crescendo, They Mean Us rely on deft shifts of theme, tempo, style and perspective to draw the listener in. The sheer grace of it all is what keeps you there. Whimsical, That's Your Fire era Aloha-esque vibraphone phrases, intricate American Football style guitar picking, rolling prog-rock bass lines, warm cello and tasteful electronics: Friendship Lottery takes the best elements of the past decade of music, fuses them, layers it, and executes it perfectly.
They Mean Us and Friendship Lottery bring to the table a peerless brand of post-ish rock without the drama, and math-rock without the geometrics. It's less filling, and tastes great.
Genre: Instrumental/Math-Rock
RIYL: Toe, The Six Parts Seven, Dinomania
Label: Self-Released/Look Again Media