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| Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs |
Like pretty
much any semi-recently minted genre, the term "post-rock" is misleading
as often as not. Really, all it tells you is what kind of people you
can expect to see at the live shows, and if you're lucky, one or two
surface details about the sound of the music itself. "Post-rock" is the
term I see applied most often to Kobe three piece Mass Of The
Fermenting Dregs, and by the above criteria, they are indeed
"post-rock," although I'm probably showing my age by noting that I saw
quite a few bands that sound like them way back in the early 90s...and
we called them either indie rock or shoegazer back then.
I'm not trying to be a jerk: post-rock is, of course, a form of indie
rock, and it's incorporated elements of shoegazer along with everything
else. But my point is that if I told you who MOTFD reminded me of, I'd
use two very non post-rock bands: early Lush and mid
period Superchunk. MOTFD are, to this aging indie rat, an indie
pop band with shoegazer aspirations (or vice versa,) mixing spacey,
floating guitar textures to the wail-above-the-din vocals of the mid
90s Chapel Hill scene. The band's site mentions The Wedding Present,
Bob Mould's Sugar, and The Smashing Pumpkins. And to drive my point
home, I'd like to point out that the last two songs on the band's self
titled debut are produced by none other than Dave Fridmann, he of
Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips.
OK, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the debut. Opening
track "Delusionalism" borders on Jpop, with singer/bassist Natsuko's
clear voice walking the fine line between earnest mainstream pop and
unadorned, indie rock back to basics. Then the backing vocals kick in,
and guitarist Chiemi positively drenches the speakers in overdriven
atmosphere that owes more than a little to the first wave of shoegaze
(Ride, Lush, Boo Radleys, etc.) The pop is blown out the back door for
the last minute or so, clearing the way for a delirious whirlwind
pummel that rivals the hugeness of any band you'd care to name.
It's a Hell of a racket for three people to kick up: "ハイライト"
("Highlight,") starts where "Delusionalism" left off, a massive tidal
wave of sound and furious energy, with Natsuko's
lone voice somehow managing to keep its head above water. "Skabetty"
(which, mercifully, contains no ska) sounds like early Ride with
Slowdive's Rachael Goswell singing backup, truly beautiful. There's
also a stronger Jpop backbone, causing the track to occasionally scrape
the noisier end of late Judy and Mary. The two Fridmann produced tracks
("If A Surfer" and the instrumental "ベアーズ," i.e. "Bears") are huge,
taking the frantic energy of the EP and simply giving it a deeper sonic
space. MOTFD are nothing if not enormous sounding, and good as the
previous four tracks are, hearing all that panoramic attack open up is
a powerful experience. "Bears" finally gives some credence to the
post-rock tag, squeezing bizarre time signatures, discordant riffs, and
angry squiggles into a Fugazi-esque attack.
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| World Is Yours |
A year later, the band released "World Is Yours," upping the Jpop
elements considerably, and in doing so move the focus away from the
guitar typhoons of the debut. Which isn't to say things have gone all
cute (God no,) but they have gotten less likely to get lost in the
torrent, instead opting for tight bursts of controlled energy, with
Natsuko's vocals leading the way, instead of shouting from the center
of the storm. "青い、濃い、橙色の日" ("Blue, Dark, Orange") goes from a very pop
vocal line into a full storm at the 3:15 mark...but where the band
previously would have pounded the crap out of everything for a
good few minutes, here, they quickly return to the tune. It's not
really a problem, but the aggression could stand to have stuck around a
bit longer.
Things gel more thoroughly with "She Is Inside, He Is Outside." The
briefest song the band has yet recorded (just under three minutes,) it
flirts with dancability, although the dancing in question would still
involve a lot of jumping around. It's almost hip-shaky, but rather than
invoking a 60s groove, it delivers creepy, spare vocals, almost
blending into the sound like another instrument. It's tight, compact,
and harnesses the band's considerable energies towards a less
expansive, more focused area. Ironically, the next track, "なんなん"
("Non-Non,") is the most explicitly shoegazer tune yet, bringing to
mind the darker end of Ride's "Nowhere," and throwing around heavier
tones.
After that comes the title track, and it's almost sunny. Which isn't to
say the band's attack has gone soft, but it is less sinister, dropping the
psychedelic trappings and opting for straight pop, albeit straight pop
with a far more aggressive backing than one would normally expect.
There's still a powerful instrumental raveup at the end, reminding the
listener what makes MOTFD more than just another group of indie pop
kids.
So now what? MOTFD have two EPs under their belt (although the debut,
at exactly half an hour, skirts the line.) They've been busy, touring
and being groomed for next big thing status, but what will happen with
the broader palate of a full album? Their huge, instrumental wall of
sound, like the first EP, could be truly magnificent in a full length.
But the band has clearly gotten a tighter handle on pop structures,
which naturally move away from that strength. It's not a problem, not
yet, and songs like "She Is Inside, He Is Outside" and "Highlight" point towards a
possible fusion of the two extremes. Time will tell...let's hope that
the inevitable pressures of being in an up and coming band don't steer
MOTFD towards being just another pop band, and away from their immense
(but less commercial) sonic power.
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"Mass Of Fermenting Dregs" and "World Is Yours" are available at Amazon
Japan.
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