As scenesters around the country collectively fail to realise that grindcore was a joke whose punchline gets less funny with each uninspired repetition, there are a few British bands pushing at the boundaries of metal - pushing hard enough to rupture its confines and set themselves free of clichés. One such band are The Miramar Disaster; the mini-album Volumes (an EP by any other name) is their second release, and it is almost impossible to categorise conveniently.
Foe example, Volumes draws heavily on metal tropes, especially for the chord-work, but the rhythms and grooves are more like something transplanted from post-hardcore. Throw in some Tool-esque progressive lead lines and quirky time signatures, and The Miramar Disaster become a very challenging and rewarding proposition to listen to - unless formulas make you feel comfortable, of course, in which case running away screaming with your fingers jammed in your ears would be a great plan.
It’s a real sensory rollercoaster; everything kinda comes at you all at once, a relentless waterfall of OMGWTF with a surprise behind every eighth bar. You’re never quite sure what The Miramar Disaster are going to do from one moment to the next. Every time you think you’ve sussed out their formula, they turn it on its head - take the Fugazi-isms of the title track “Volumes”, for example, or the hints of Slint in the haunting “The Town of Empty Sound”, which swaps the fierce fretboard workouts and dual-attack shriek’n'bellow voices for a simple gloomy arpeggio and subtly spine-chilling guest vocals from Maria Christopher.
I’d have liked Volumes to have a beefier sound overall - a bit more bottom-end thump during the heavy parts would have emphasized the ethereal quality of the quieter passages and the sharpness of the lead guitar lines - but budget may not have permitted that degree of production polish. It’s not a deal-breaker, anyway; I’d rather have a little sonic thinning than listen to yet another collage of Protools edits and re-triggered drums. Besides, inventive songwriting and musicianship always carry the day, and The Miramar Disaster have both in spades.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: experimental, metal, post-hardcore, progressive, The Miramar Disaster, Volumes
