Hailing from Sacramento, California, Tera Melos is a band that has held a firm grasp on my attention ever since I first discovered them back in 2007. I was introduced to them through the spastic, but colourful sounds that peppered their second EP, Drugs to the Dear Youth, which isn’t the easiest collection of songs to sing along to; but still showed a startling beauty, let alone the talents of the individual members. So after 6 years, several releases, and plenty of tour time, they’ve managed to craft their most accessible album to date. On X’ed Out, Tera Melos have taken the stop-start ideals and bright melodies of their early releases and brought them into full-form through a collection of catchy and fun math-rock jams.
In terms of members, Tera Melos have stuck with the same line-up since 2008, which is likely a reason for the undeniable consistency between their releases. Nick Reinhart is still the sole guitar maven, working through a variable smorgasbord of pedals and effects. Nathan Latona is still manning the bass and John Clardy is behind the drums, which are as quick and technical as ever.
However, in 2010 the band did make one significant change and that was the addition of vocals to that years full length Patagonian Rats. As if pumping out fast and oddly-phrased riffs wasn’t enough, Reinhart took charge on the vocals as well, which added a surprisingly great element to their already adventurous music. Now one album later the vocals have been perfected.
Instead of singing loud and emphatically like many math rock groups do, Reinhart has a captivating ease to the way he lets his vocals flow on X’ed Out. Even on some of the busiest songs off the album like “Sunburn” or “Surf Nazis”, his lyrics aren’t given any urgency, which add a definite sense of tranquility among some of the instrumental turbulence. His gentle vocal talents are best displayed on the calming single “No Phase”, which is not only one of the quietest songs the group has made, but gives the album variety in the most endearing and unexpected way. “Tropic Lame” in contrast, is a great single that shows just how loud Tera Melos can be while still being incredibly catchy through a fuzzed out guitar, thumping drums, and a strong bassline.
Since math-rock is usually the most calculated style to play instrumentally, it can often become stale by sounding mechanized, but Tera Melos have a way of making their music sound otherwise. Clearly, the riffs on singles like “Slimed” or “Until Lufthansa” need to be planned out meticulously, and have been, but when played they are given a looseness that reminds listeners that there are humans behind these noises. Many math-rock groups do not have this enduring quality, which in turn give their songs a robotic, formulaic and un-engaging sound. Clearly, Tera Melos know how its done, because X’ed Out is full of complex riffs that sound like they come from live musicians, not some calculated clips playing in a DAW.
Though math-rock is often the label associated with Tera Melos, X’ed Out shows a wide range of other stylistic influences as well. The band has certainly stepped out of a few stylistic boundaries for certain parts of the LP and it works perfectly. Indie rock makes its way into some of the cracks of the album, as well as psychedelic and surf-rock. These new stylistic changes are more obviously shown on the short, but calming piece “Snake Lake”. Also, album ender “X’ed Out and Tired” has a folky and adolescent sound to it, making it a perfectly engaging closer.
Ever since Drugs To The Dear Youth made it’s way into my musical collection back in 2007 Tera Melos have been placed into a league of their own. Not only are they producing a surprising amount of noise for three people, but they do it in a way that is completely captivating. This years offering, X’ed Out may not stand out in all the same ways the groups first release did, but it offers way more. Through playful melodies, singable choruses and an attention to detail, X’ed Out is Tera Melos’ most accomplished and accessible release to date.
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