Spring Break
Virtually unknown Tera Melos digitally release cover EP
Craig Bidiman
Issue date: 1/16/09 Section: Diversions
Anyone familiar with the Californian math-rock outfit, Tera Melos, knows full-well there isn't much about their music, or persona for that matter, that makes much sense.
Compared most closely to fellow experimental band, The Fall of Troy, these three men (Nick Reinhart- vocals/guitar/keyboard, Nathan Latona- bass and John Clardy- drums) have been working quite diligently over the last half-decade to establish themselves as an unconventional favorite in underground concert halls across the country.
However, being virtually unknown has its advantages.
On Tuesday, the group released a five-song Cover EP "Idioms, Vol. 1" for digital download only available through their Web site. I was excited, to say the least, to click the download button, as the last time I saw them live I was left in a pool of guitar-taps and energy virtually unseen among mainstay bands.
"Idioms" is an erratic and trippy compilation comprised of five covers from the bands: The Beach Boys, The Clash, The Pixies, Rivers Cuomo (of Weezer) and Polaris. Each song clocks in at under two minutes, making the final runtime of the album under nine minutes. I even listened to the album 12 times before writing this review.
The album, which was self-recorded and produced, flows like other Tera Melos releases "Untitled and Drugs to the Dear Youth," each song connects as if the entire album may have been considered to be merely one eight-and-a-half minute song. The group, specializing in differentiating time signatures, has taken each of these songs from a vast span of time and has created a fresh look at what music should sound like.
Something that has always interested me is the substantial differences between generations of music and how each can understand each other. This album is a great effort to close in the gap. Tera Melos, a relatively young band, presents a number of reinventions of sounds from before their time. It is good to see what a band can accomplish with some good old-fashioned elbow grease.
Compared most closely to fellow experimental band, The Fall of Troy, these three men (Nick Reinhart- vocals/guitar/keyboard, Nathan Latona- bass and John Clardy- drums) have been working quite diligently over the last half-decade to establish themselves as an unconventional favorite in underground concert halls across the country.
However, being virtually unknown has its advantages.
On Tuesday, the group released a five-song Cover EP "Idioms, Vol. 1" for digital download only available through their Web site. I was excited, to say the least, to click the download button, as the last time I saw them live I was left in a pool of guitar-taps and energy virtually unseen among mainstay bands.
"Idioms" is an erratic and trippy compilation comprised of five covers from the bands: The Beach Boys, The Clash, The Pixies, Rivers Cuomo (of Weezer) and Polaris. Each song clocks in at under two minutes, making the final runtime of the album under nine minutes. I even listened to the album 12 times before writing this review.
The album, which was self-recorded and produced, flows like other Tera Melos releases "Untitled and Drugs to the Dear Youth," each song connects as if the entire album may have been considered to be merely one eight-and-a-half minute song. The group, specializing in differentiating time signatures, has taken each of these songs from a vast span of time and has created a fresh look at what music should sound like.
Something that has always interested me is the substantial differences between generations of music and how each can understand each other. This album is a great effort to close in the gap. Tera Melos, a relatively young band, presents a number of reinventions of sounds from before their time. It is good to see what a band can accomplish with some good old-fashioned elbow grease.
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