It's A Strange Thing Being Human

Well when she stood up I asked "Baby, why are you crying?"

Genre Is Irrelevant:

Tera Melos - X'ed Out (2013, Sargent House):

What better way to kick things off in my newly redirected, vinyl-centric Tumblr than with an entry that doesn't have anything to do with vinyl.. fuck me, right? Regardless, this is a release (and band for that part) that truly deserves some lovin'. If you're unfamiliar with Tera Melos, they're a small band from Sacramento who's been making the normally rigid "math rock" genre (god what an awful title) their little bitch for the better part of the last decade. Initially they started off as a mostly instrumental bunch who seemed determined to cram as much somersaulting, athletic musicianship and dizzying weirdness into their spastic brand of jazzy post-everything-rock. Over the course of a modest sum of releases though, they have since expanded and refined their style by flexing their proggy tendencies and strengthening their craft as songwriters, without ever losing much of their technical edge or their endearing strangeness.

Which brings us to this year's newest offering, X'ed Out. After the brief, understated build-up that makes up the first half of album-opener "Weird Circles", the band cuts loose on all cylinders, doing what they do best and doing it arguably better than ever. Much like 2010's near-perfect Patagonian Rats, X'ed Out sees the band writing with a much more sharpened sense of song-craft than their self-titled debut album would have led to believe they were capable of. The tracks on X'ed Out are actually quite easily identifiable as songs rather than stretched out, indulgent jam sessions. Hell, I even daresay there are some downright infectiously catchy parts bouncing around in there that could qualify as choruses. The band has, as a unit, gotten better at dialing back the flashy musicianship for the sake of engaging song dynamics, so when they cut loose and use everything they've got to drive a huge hook over-the-top it really hits hard (see: "Sunburn" & "Tropic Lame" for examples of these huge hooks I speak of). Also, Nick Reinhart's role as a vocalist for the band has done wonders to really push their songs to new heights as their sound has progressed (again, see Patagonian Rats, that album is fantastic). Early on the band operated as an arguably instrumental unit (there were kinda vocals, but not in a way that really contributed to the songs... like at all), but over the years Reinhart's vocals have become more and more prominent, to the point they're at now where his vocal melodies are an integral part (along with his improved songwriting chops) of what gives X'ed Out its infectiously poppy charm.

If I've mislead you to believe this is some kind of attempted sell-out album, rest assured, all the things to love about Tera Melos remain intact. You've still got enough technical prowess and quirky musicianship to firmly identify this release as "math rock-esque", but unlike most bands that they share a stupid genre-tag with.. Tera Melos is actually having fun, dammit. Ignoring all the nimble musical showmanship, Tera Melos has managed to create songs that exude so much exuberance and raw, joyful energy that it's almost overbearing. It's honestly hard to resist smiling thinking about how much fun it must be for these guys to play songs that are busting at the seams with so much melodic bombast. Save for slow-burners and overall downer tracks "Slimed" and "X'ed Out and Tired" (and i mean "downer" to refer to mood, not quality. Those songs rule too), X'ed Out plows ahead track after track with relentless, hyperactive spirit.

Hell, if it weren't for the band's unshakable commitment to an almost alienating level of weirdness, this probably could've been the album that bumped them from cult band to blogsphere & festival highlights that sites like pitchfork salivate over (hey, it worked for Japandroids once they made a compromise or two). But I can see some people being put off by both the abrupt changes in mood and direction between and during songs (listen to "Tropic Lame" through "Slimed to see what I'm talking about), as well as the music's sometimes disorienting complexity. I also don't think it tops Tera Melos' previous album, Patagonian Rats, but it's a solid lateral move and a great album is a great album. Still, if you've got a sweet-tooth for bizarre & complex music I can't think of an easier way to satisfy it than with X'ed Out. Overall, this band really deserves more recognition than I've seen them get over the years. I've been wise to their game for a while now, and back around 06-08 they were something of a gateway band for me, exposing me to a whole new type of experimental music and really piquing my interest in bands that operated in that spectrum. So hey, here's hoping that their easier-to-digest album presented this year does the same for someone else. I would really love to see this band get some well-deserved praise for X'ed Out. Seriously, if you like what you hear there just keep moving back through their discography, because it's all close to the same level of quality (disclaimer: it gets weirder the farther back you go). I'll be trying to get my grubby paws on a vinyl copy of this and I'll make sure to update this writeup if I do! Until then, go get X'ed Out. Chances are, if what I've written here sounds like something you'd be interested in, then the album will easily exceed your expectations, as I am a subpar writer.

STATE OF THE TUMBLR ADDRESS:

Its been almost two years since I've started this barely functioning outlet for the slow leak of flaccid creativity I'm sometimes able to bullshit onto a keyboard. So far I've criminally underutilized it in favor of inane things like end-of-the-year lists and youtube videos of artists I admire. It was supposed to be an online account of my passion and obsessive worship of the one thing I enjoy most in this world: music and the culture built around it. Life is hard though, and I am lazy and mostly uninspired. I let myself down a little I think by letting this collect dust the way it has.

The time has come for me to either delete this waste of internet space, this useless throwaway zone for sporadic and half-baked commentary on sometimes-music-oriented things, or I would have to completely restructure it. I've chosen to light a fire under my ass, get my shit together, and make this "blog" something of a new project to throw myself into.

itsastrangethingbeinghuman.tumblr.com (or whatever the URL is, I don't know how the internet works) is still going to be devoted to music i enjoy, but with a few tweaks. First and foremost, I am an avid devotee to the analog format, and over the years my record collection has grown to an embarrassingly hefty mass. So the key focus here is going to be vinyl. New releases, upcoming pre-orders, fellow vinyl-centric blogs and websites, and also a documentation of my own personal collection. I will comment on the resell market, answer any questions anyone has about pressing info, information resources, turntable setups, etc. in addition to giving my two-cents on individual records of particularly high end packaging, presentation, and (most importantly) the songs contained in their grooves. Album reviews, current events in the music world, and concert recommendations will surely sneak their way in, but I'm keeping things simple starting out. So for the time being itsastrangethingbeinghuman will be broken down into the following segments:

That Warm, Crackling Sound: for all things vinyl. A no-rules onslaught of information on shit you don't care about but I am irresistibly fascinated by.

Live From Where I'm Standing: I go to a lot of concerts, and more often than not have a thing or two to say about them. Commentary on tours, set-lists, the whole "live music experience".

Genre Is Irrelevant: Albums reviews, bands, developments regarding bands, and in general just updates on what I'm jamming whenever I'm jamming.

1. Fucking Christ Robert Pollard is looking old as hell these days.

2. LAWL Greg Demos falls down on national television. He is clearly out of practice doing the splits. THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T TAKE 6 YEAR HIATUSES!