Labels: art for blind
Review by: Oli Saunders
This is the first full release from Mesa Verde, a five piece band from Glasgow. Previously they had released a demo and an EP on CD, both really solid. So when I saw they had a 12” coming out I had great expectations. There are a fair few bands around doing this kind of screamy emo, mainly from Europe it seems, but Mesa Verde are the only ones I know of from the UK. And additionally, you will be happy to hear, they do it really well.
Things kick off with an instrumental track, starting slowly before really getting going by the end. It doesn’t get two post rock like fortunately and holds my attention. Decent track there.
That’s not what we’re here for though, and the second song ‘For The Tree That Fell’ is what Mesa Verde are all about. The guitars open things up for a spiralling crashing chaotic emo sound, complete with screamed vocals. I love this kind of stuff it has to be said. Things speed up in places, slow down in others. Everything is kept interesting and doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. In fact on this track, the tempo slows down after about a minute and the vocals alter to being desperately sung. The transition works really well I think. After a while the song picks up again and the screamed vocals return.
The other tracks play in a similar way. The guitars play off of one another, not too dissimilar from bands such as Daïtro, Bökanövsky and the like. Whilst not blowing me away, there’s enough originality here to make this another solid and enjoyable release from this band. The last track is pretty epic too, 13 minutes in total. Again it stays interesting throughout, which is a pretty implessive feat for such a long track. A really great end to the record.
It’s a nicely put together record by Dany at Art For Blind records, who also offers a download link for MP3s of the songs when you buy it. It is a real shame that the Mesa Verde / Black Channels tour fell apart in July because these guys (and Black Channels) are really good, and the UK music scene is by no means saturated with this kind of thing. I had the fortune of seeing them at one of the few shows they did play and they were pretty awesome. To sum it all up, if you like the whole screamy emo thing then give this a try!
11th December 2008