Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My Mind: Path Masher

     My Mind is a very interesting band in the way they work. I could find literally nothing on the Internet about these guys though, so sorry for the lack of background info. The record is available from their Free Music Archive page, and is a flurry of playful guitar riffs and enjoyable melodies.
     The sound this group makes is not dissimilar to that of another band, 'The Wombats'. The humorous and honest lyrics closely resemble that of the Liverpudlian band, as does the sound of the guitar and drums, be it smothered slightly in lo-fi reverb. This record has a very punk feel in the way the lyrics are sang as well. The voice isn't screamy, but still manages to retain an aggression of sorts. As I said, very interesting. Very interesting indeed.
     There is a let-down to this album though, make no mistake. Weighing in at only ten minutes long, this is hardly an album. Yet there are eleven tracks. This is both good and bad in that the album is constantly changing, but there is very little variety to the songs. This creates an annoying factor that turned me off, despite the good instrumentation. Imagine having just got settled in a comfy chair, and then having to go prepare the dinner. The sudden change in melody after a mere minute of playing made me feel as though My Mind got bored while writing. I am sure that the same amount of variety could have been squeezed into four three minute songs, yet the band decided to stretch them out into eleven short tracks. This was quite a major problem with the record for me, but that's my opinion, and I'm sure others might enjoy the fast and changing pace of this 'album'.
     The music itself is good though. The lo-fi reverb on the vocals, matched with the quirky lyrics on songs such as 'Street Fighter 5' makes for an interesting listen. Being over so quick though makes the listener feel cheated out of a more lengthier experience, even if it is only an EP. This flaw for me was annoying, but because of the writing and sound these guys made, I will definitely look out for the stuff they hopefully make in the future. There's not much else to say, really. A short but sweet record, the phrase 'less is more' should probably be shouted at this band from afar. It is free though, so try it out anyway, despite my criticism!