Mico "Outside the Unbearable Grows" CD
[G7 Welcoming Committee]
When it comes to emo/indie rock type stuff, this Canadian outfit is probably the most intelligent and politically motivated band out there that you would never quite expect be, because their music is so emotional and melodic, not to mention fairly catchy as well. It's not particularly upbeat, it definitely leans towards the darker side of things, but it's memorable. The vocals are straight singing, fairly calm but not at all monotonous, and the music flows smoothly between moods, creating a fairly consistent atmosphere where layers of guitars interact constantly with one another and the occasional presence of keyboards or loops adds additional textures. The chord progressions in "This Great Achievement" are a little more rocked out and straightforward, but other songs like the excellent title track are more "experimental" to some degree, relying largely on droning guitar lines and slow moving tempos that twist and turn as the composition progresses. Something about their delivery reminds me of a couple of other bands, but I'm drawing a blank on that (thankfully), and I think that in general what Mico is doing is in its own little niche that works with tangible influences but takes them somewhere else. The recording is on the muddy side because everything is so dense, which detracts from things a little bit, I mean, this would be better if the sound was brighter and more open, but I like it at the same time. It's not a problem so much it is something that could stand for improvement. The drum sound is hugely resonant, and I love that, and the bass tone is really slick too, which makes for some really interesting textures when lush layers of clean guitars are employed. When distortion is used it's pretty light, but it works out fine. The layout is fucking awesome on this thing. It's printed on a strange sort of semi-gloss paper or something, and there are tons of absolutely incredible photographs, mostly in black and white, some in color. I could look at the photos for a good hour, they're that interesting to me. Lyrically a lot of political slants are involved, sometimes mixed in with personal twists and turns, sometimes more direct. "How do you explain this fracture from our surroundings? Your social hierarchy pushes toward catastrophe. The quality of our lives is played out on a TV screen, we have realized things are not what they seem. This system based on greed has our leaders drunk with power. Justice and equality, is what we are demanding now..." This is great stuff. I'd like to hear more from this band, I'm really pleased to hear a band take a message that actually means something to this style of music for once. Definitely worth checking out. (7/10)
Running time - 35:32, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Outside the Unbearable Grows, This Great Achievement, Retransmission]
G7 Welcoming Committee Records - http://www.g7welcomingcommittee.com

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