Melodrome: Reviews

"Fucking great brit pop lushness mixed with a mid-period U2. Crunchy"

Melodrome - Happens While You Blink

Engineered by Justin Gulp at SubStation
Mixed by Justin Gulp at Gulp Studio
Mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound

Many bands purport to be “straight ahead rock,” yet when the chips are down, most crumple for one reason or another. Some all but fall over themselves to display the proper bad attitude, while others make a show out of being so bizarre, attention is all but guaranteed.

Melodrome play undiluted, unmixed rock music, with an occasional hit from a ‘70s funk inhaler. Melodrome employs the classic drums, bass, guitars, and keyboard format on Happens While You Blink. The sound quality of this record is flawless in an age of cut corners, home studios, and high prices. Further unquestionable are the arrangement skills of Melodrome: every background vocal/guitar/keyboard part is well-timed and well-played - and not just on the record as a result of the whim of the vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist’s need to hear themselves make sound on the big, fancy speakers.

Melodrome breaks from the standard program every so often, giving the record some pleasing range. The head-wagging falsetto funk of “Jagged Love” is a switch from the prevalent drive of the record, while the plaintive strumming and breathy lead vocals of “Love Happens” show the listener that Melodrome are not just a bunch of big bad rockers, they may possess souls as well. For the record, “Love Keeps Me Alive” is a strong example of the band’s energy, with pseudo new-wave punctuation mixed with a more modern chorus. For a band that sings so much of love, they have a surprisingly low emo quotient; which is a very, very good thing. Melodrome score some serious points for a hand-sewn (yes, sewn) CD cover. Melodrome comes from a more mature place than most rock bands, and it shows on Happens While You Blink. (self-released)

Melodrome

Happens While You Blink (Soultube Music)

Housatonic, Mass.-based trio Melodrome’s third release is a wondrous combination of the literate, the sublime, and nerve-tearing rawness. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Robby Baier somehow combines the piss of Stiv Bator, the swagger of Jagger, and the majesty of say, Leonard Cohen and Johnette Napolitano into perfect exploding pop-rock bombs that say what needs to be said and move on. Familiar pop conventions and sounds are introduced, chopped, combined, and pasted, resulting in 12 songs that are at once easy on the ears and challenging on the first listen, and stay that way through the 20th. Bassist Jesko Stahl and drummer Matt Sloan play minimally and within the often deceptively nonlinear songs, and throw in backing vocals that recall Philly soul, Lennon and McCartney and (I’ll be damned!) even N*Sync. The result is the sound of a thinking, organic, fire-breathing band who are way more than the sum of their parts, which is rare these days, and virtually unheard of on a local recording. Every song swings for the fences, and whether railing about a lost lover (the jarringly persona1 “North Dakota”) or wooing a new one (“The Making Of”), every song hits its mark.

The first thousand copies of Happens While You Blink are packaged in hand-sewn recycled LP jackets. Mine’s a Mantovani. This disc stands up against any rock record you’ll hear anywhere. In other words, if this had come out a month ago on a major label, with a video placed on Fuse, and the usual half-a-mil spent on indie promo, it would be platinum right now. It’ll take something awfully bodacious to knock this off my best-record-of-2005 pick.

‘Melodrome’s junior effort rises their staus to maximum top of mind awareness. Finding their stride this passionate record titled ‘happens while you blink’ is not only a musical leap forward, but rather a perfect and endless journey with the top down... amazing.’ - Eric Wilens

Thursday, March 31, 2005 -

GREAT BARRINGTON -- On Melodrome's brand new record, "Happens While You Blink," the band decided to de-emphasize the roll and accentuate the rock.

After "Play America," their previous politically inclined release, songwriter Robby Baier felt like taking a break from the seriousness.

"One day I picked up my crappy Silvertone guitar, plugged it into a no-name amp I had bought at a tag sale, turned everything up to 11 and started rocking, writing some riffs," said Housatonic's Baier in an e-mail exchange.

Those riffs turned into power-popping tracks from the new independently released CD. The rollicking "What More," the funky and profane "Jagged Love" and the rough-and-tumble "Rumors" all sprang from the Silvertone session and will be part of the setlist at Saturday night's CD-release show at Club Helsinki.

Bassist Jesko Stahl attributed the band's tougher tone to the vibe in the studio along with the work of producer, Justin Guip.

"A couple of songs really only came together in the studio where we came up with the arrangement and everybody figured out their parts. But I love this way of recording. Decisions are made on the fly. It gives the album a rawer sound."

The band's passion and punchier sound is evident throughout the dozen tracks. Drummer Matt Sloan acknowledged the wish to move to a more aggressive approach.

"I think we were ready to move in a totally different direction. We always had an edgier side, that I think never really came out on the previous albums. It just felt like the right time to lash out and say "Here's the Rock."

Baier turned his attention away from global affairs for "Happens While You Blink" to the politics of the heart.

"Lyrically I turned back to a time when I was not so lucky in love, a time where I was going through a major break-up," he said. " 'What More,' 'North Dakota,' and 'Jagged Love' all talk about love gone sour and being really pissed about it."

The record includes makeup songs ("Crying Is Done"), straight-out love songs ("The Making Of"), and a song about traveling in time with your lover ("Yesterday"). Other compositions deal with more existential matters.

"There are the songs that are about self-realization and consciousness, like 'All the Same' and 'High Noon Breakdown,' " Baier explained. "These songs offer both sides of the story, one is about the confusion of life, one about being one with everything."

The Berkshires-based band remains committed to social causes and participating in a sustainable future. Their eco-friendly attitude is evidenced by an innovative approach Melodrome took toward packaging the new album. Mystery Train Records donated 250 recycled, 12-inch vinyl album covers to the band, who then had them cut down and sewn together to create jackets for the new CDs.

The band will be releasing the first 1,000 copies with "one-of-a-kind" album artwork where no two jackets will be identical. Said Baier, "Doing this cover is a small thing that we as a band can do to say to folks: 'Check it out. We tried to come up with a different, less harmful way to do what we do."

Sloan talked about the theme behind the CD's title. " 'Happens While You Blink' is a reference to all the subtle things that happen in your life day to day," the drummer said. "One moment everything is beautiful and perfect and the next thing you know everything is going down the drain. In a rock band you experience this stuff pretty regularly!"

Baier added, "For me, the title has more to do with my philosophical approach to life. Life happens while you blink, all the time, non-stop and it is silly to hope for something in the future that is somehow going to make your life better.

"Our brains are constantly searching, looking, judging ... 'Happens While You Blink' reminds me to take a breath and be present to life in every moment, in every word I write, just writing and being."

Melodrome is fired up for their Helsinki gig, armed with a new batch of songs and a stripped-down sound (the group is now a trio after the departure of guitarist, Darren Todd).

"We love Helsinki and look forward to celebrate our second release party there," said Baier.

"We also love our friends and look forward to blowing their socks off!!"

Stahl concurred. "Playing a local gig at a Club like Helsinki is definitely the most fun to play," he said. "Only Madison Square Garden can top that."

Dave Madeloni can be reached at madeloni@aol.com

robby

i just wanted to say--that gig was really really really really good.

 

really nice new stuff and i

love the album

and it's not cause i'm a big fan already

you guys are a really excellent pop ROCK band

you all have something special...

love love happens

thanks for a show that cheered me the hell up and makes me excited about MUSIC

not doing music, just excited about music itself

kay bye

celia

ps and you can tell that to the boys

Wow!

I bought this CD after hearing the band at a small gig in New York City, and now every time I hear a hot new CD, like those by the Wrens or Beulah, I think they're not as good as these guys, who rival any major band out there--U2, R.E.M, Coldplay--with consistently compelling songs (not a dud on the CD), great melodies, lyrics, and a rocking edge. I liked the CD immediately and after playing it just one or two times, the songs were going around in my head, not just one or two, but all of them; it was eerie. Then I just couldn't stop playing it. It they come to your town, go now. When these guys catch on, it'll be hard to get tickets.

Best record I have bought since the first Coldplay record

Always great when you can buy something before it hits the mainstream and feel like you were a part of it when it was just starting out. This record is destined to be a classic if not on a global scale then on the scale of ....like a Nick Drake or some other artist that we look back on and go....why were they never big. I'm beginning to like it when artists only get to be a certain level of famous. Robby Baier as a solo artist is being called the male version of Ani Difranco, this new band of his solidifies his place in my eyes as a unique talent and one that will be giving us great songs to listen to for years to come. It doesn't hurt that he lives in Western, MA my home town. At any rate the record is pretty darn cool for something that isn't a major label release, self produced and doesn't have ClearChannel giving away Rolex's to DJ's for playing it, buy it, you'll like it I promise.

Meldrome is located in Berkshire County, the place I call home. Their new EP Play America is an interesting and provocative blend of music and lyrics. I sincerely appreciated their music but I had mixed feelings about their message. Their position is one that is at times cynical, yet ballsy enough to get right to the point. They take a stance that is against war and it looks as though the political structure that makes warfare happen. I do not necessarily appreciate their view on this subject, but I did hear them loud and clear and respect their need to speak what is on their minds. I am a veteran, and I back our troops 100% wherever they land, although it does bother me tremendously when people we send in harms way loose their lives. I think these men appreciate being an American, they just do not value the way we deal with other countries and that is something that many folks take issue with these days. Well, enough of that, what is important here is the music they make.

Their sound is a rock-alternative assortment that is rich and varied in texture with a lot of professional polish. The strong command of their craft that they possess is rooted in their belief system and apparent in every track they perform. Most independent bands that have reached a worldwide audience are the ones that command this kind of attention, not these guys, they are relatively new to recording their own music so they are the exception to the rule.

Many audiences will appreciate this music, particularly the college population in both sound and content. There is a bonus video included as well featuring a song titled "Sex, Cash and Fuel," which is the flipside to the emotions they express throughout the album. They sing about how great it is to live in the U.S., if you happen to have those three things at your disposal; it is the reality of who we are, like it or not it. That track makes the connection to another interesting song "Cog in the Machine," actually all the tracks fit together nicely if you listen to all the words. "Sex, Cash and Fuel" was easily my favorite track, I could not stop listening to it and it just kept growing on me, as I am sure every other song will as well the more I listen to this.I really look forward to hearing their next outing and I hope it is a full-length album. I see a bright future ahead for this band if they stick to it and keep pumping out the great music and promoting themselves.