Meneguar

Item: I Was Born at Night
Author: Christopher Thomas

I Was Born at Night

(2005)

Reviewed by Christopher Thomas

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Label Magic Bullet RecordsDecapolisJuly 2005

indie rock post-punk

According to their press release, this band used to be called Sheryl's Magnetic Aura. I should give them a 4-star rating based solely on picking a better name. I would not ever go see a band called Sheryl's Magnetic Aura. Ever. I promise. However, I definitely would go see a band called Meneguar, because that name frightens me. Also, this record was released on Magic Bullet Records, which is maybe the coolest name for a record label ever. And what's more is that the logo for Magic Bullet is a cute but poorly drawn bullet with a big ol' smile that just says to me, "Hey, we want to make you happy. Here's some music. And later we'll bring you a plate of cookies. We hope you like chocolate chips!" So far, so good.

I Was Born at Night is up-tempo indie rock that draws a lot from the indie rock sound of the late 90s. The music is catchy without being sugary and honest without being melodramatic. Guitar lines weave in and out of one another, the drums keep things propelling ever forward, and bass lines hold it all together so it doesn't get out of hand. The half-sung, half-yelled, half-yelped vocals are entirely appropriate and are similar to what you might hear on an older Modest Mouse record. (Yes, I know that is three halves. No, I don't care.)

The one thing that lacks most on this record is the production. While it isn't terrible, the sound of the record is thick and muddy. The music doesn't call for pristine, high-quality sounds - in fact, perfect production values would hurt the band more than help - but some clarity and separation between the instruments would increase the quality of this record tremendously. Lyrically Meneguar may be trying a bit too hard to be esoteric, but again, too much clarity would be unbecoming for a band of this style. On the next record, though, it would be nice to see some more coherently written lyrics that are not so much interesting word combinations as they are more complete thoughts. (As a side note, hands are mentioned on 6 of the 7 tracks on this record. Weird.)

Meneguar sets themselves apart simply by being interesting. In the days of formulaic "screamo" and radio-friendly punk bands, they'll probably never make it big. But hopefully they'll keep playing anyway. Now tell your record label I want my cookies.

2.5/4