Severe apologies for the non-updates. Life happens.
You know what else happens? Myspace music friend requests. This, of course, leads us to another edition of Myspace Music Friend Request Reviews.
I used to have a bunch of these in my inbox, but for some reason they've all disappeared, wiped out by Tom. All except for Metavari's request. Prepare to have the spotlight shoned upon thee.
Before I go on I have to mention that Ty-from-Metavari frequents this here blog. This has no bearing on what I think of the band (honestly!), but it is good to know that readership exists.
Metavari
(featuring the talents of four disembodied heads and a fellow who really digs his horizontal stripes)
A lot of bands (a LOT) shoot themselves in their collective feet with bad vocals. How many times have you been jammin' to a rockin' intro only to have awful singing ruin your special little moment? COUNT THE TIMES RIGHT NOW. When this happens while I'm driving it makes me want to jerk the wheel. But anyway, as a band the best way to get around this is not to sing at all. Let the instrumentation say what needs to be said. Let the listener translate the music into a language that speaks best to him or her.
In the past fifteen years instrumental indie-rock (indie-mental rock?) has become quite fashionable. Fortunately it's a fashion I don't mind wearing. Explosions in the Sky, GY!BE, and Unwed Sailor are, in my opinion, the best purveyors of the genre. But what they don't do is add the boopy and beepy influence of indie electronica (indie-tron?).
The electro-rock wire is a shaky one to walk, especially for an instrumental band. Too far in one direction and suddenly your techno; fun but full of headaches. Too far in another (eliminating the beats, for example) and you become overly atmospheric and quite boring. Air and Zero 7, at least in the chillout department where Metavari qualifies, balance themselves in this manner quite excellently (albeit with the use of vocals). Done just right the music can hover around unobstructively in the background OR it can be the fascinating center of attention.
Do Metavari successfully accomplish the same? Shoot yeah they do. Without employing pesky words either.
I'd be interested to catch the band live (like, in person... Youtube performances exist) where their shows become multimedia events. Also they've been incorporating Beach Boys music into their sets, and I am completely interested to hear how well and how differently they rearrange those songs. In fact, Metavari is releasing a digital nine song Beach Boys cover album FREE this summer, and that is something I cannot wait for.
My only complaint is that there are only these two-minute samples on their Myspace page. Fools, I want to hear the whole song. Even if it's ten minutes long. ESPECIALLY if it's ten minutes long.
Anyway, highly recommended, blah blah blah.
I rate Metavari 10 moogs out of 10.
You know what else happens? Myspace music friend requests. This, of course, leads us to another edition of Myspace Music Friend Request Reviews.
I used to have a bunch of these in my inbox, but for some reason they've all disappeared, wiped out by Tom. All except for Metavari's request. Prepare to have the spotlight shoned upon thee.
Before I go on I have to mention that Ty-from-Metavari frequents this here blog. This has no bearing on what I think of the band (honestly!), but it is good to know that readership exists.
Metavari
(featuring the talents of four disembodied heads and a fellow who really digs his horizontal stripes)
A lot of bands (a LOT) shoot themselves in their collective feet with bad vocals. How many times have you been jammin' to a rockin' intro only to have awful singing ruin your special little moment? COUNT THE TIMES RIGHT NOW. When this happens while I'm driving it makes me want to jerk the wheel. But anyway, as a band the best way to get around this is not to sing at all. Let the instrumentation say what needs to be said. Let the listener translate the music into a language that speaks best to him or her.
In the past fifteen years instrumental indie-rock (indie-mental rock?) has become quite fashionable. Fortunately it's a fashion I don't mind wearing. Explosions in the Sky, GY!BE, and Unwed Sailor are, in my opinion, the best purveyors of the genre. But what they don't do is add the boopy and beepy influence of indie electronica (indie-tron?).
The electro-rock wire is a shaky one to walk, especially for an instrumental band. Too far in one direction and suddenly your techno; fun but full of headaches. Too far in another (eliminating the beats, for example) and you become overly atmospheric and quite boring. Air and Zero 7, at least in the chillout department where Metavari qualifies, balance themselves in this manner quite excellently (albeit with the use of vocals). Done just right the music can hover around unobstructively in the background OR it can be the fascinating center of attention.
Do Metavari successfully accomplish the same? Shoot yeah they do. Without employing pesky words either.
I'd be interested to catch the band live (like, in person... Youtube performances exist) where their shows become multimedia events. Also they've been incorporating Beach Boys music into their sets, and I am completely interested to hear how well and how differently they rearrange those songs. In fact, Metavari is releasing a digital nine song Beach Boys cover album FREE this summer, and that is something I cannot wait for.
My only complaint is that there are only these two-minute samples on their Myspace page. Fools, I want to hear the whole song. Even if it's ten minutes long. ESPECIALLY if it's ten minutes long.
Anyway, highly recommended, blah blah blah.
I rate Metavari 10 moogs out of 10.
