Mutiny On The Bounty

Trials

Written by: TL on 12/09/2012 21:53:46

I've missed two opportunities to watch Luxembourg quintet Mutiny On The Bounty so far this year, and while I've had no prior familiarity with the band's music each time I've given myself a hard time about it, because something about the way they were presented to me just struck me as intriguing. So eventually I got hold of their second album "Trials" both to check it out and to deliver a review, and if you listen to it yourself, you should easily hear that it justifies both any odd, positive premonitions I may have had about it, just as it justifies me taking my time in actually sitting down by the keys to try to describe it.

The obvious reason for this is that the sound of "Trials" is not very easily comparable to the sound of any other band I can think of. On it Mutiny On The Bounty play a mathy, ambient, experimental rock, rich on highly exotic guitar riffs and quirky rhythmic patterns, some times including vocals on tracks and some times not. The expression varies from having a peculiar delicateness - which I'd describe as the sonic equivalent to seing a high-res close-up of a snowflake, amazing crystalline structures visible and all - over into galloping bursts of energy and mountaineous avalanches of guitar noise, all of it arranged into unpredictable yet seamless structures that are sure to gratify the adventurous listener.

What I'm saying is that MOTB have crafted an album that sounds both highly unique and highly fascinating, and for that I initially suspected that it would open up to me over a long run of returning listens. That however, has not happened, and I'm not quite sture why. For each time I return there are plenty of riffs and vocal chants that I recognise and feel in a good way, yet I feel like my attention eventually does go wandering off somewhere rather than being firmly grasped by the album's musical expedition throughout.

I would say that it could be due to the rather raw, barky quality of the vocals, which are hardly very melodic, but that does not make a lot of sense, because I enjoy the songs without vocals, such as "North Korea" and "Myanmar", just as much as I enjoy the best ones with vocals, "Modern Day Robbery", "Artifacts" and "Statues", and this is highly unusual to a guy like me, who have never been much for strictly instrumental rock. Maybe it could be because "Trials" is just so damn exotic that it feels almost alien to most music you'll hear, and hence will demand a ridiculous amount of listens to connect with the listener on the emotional level as well as the intellectual one?

This record it seems, is sort of an enigma for me, but do not get the wrong impression from my confusion, it is still very good and comes highly recommended, especially if you like to sample bands that think outside of the box. If I sounded sceptical for a minute there it is indeed only because I first thought this would be among my contenders for album of the year, and I never quite got there with it. Oh well, maybe in 20 more listens.

8

Download: Modern Day Robbery, Fiction, Statues, Artifacts
For The Fans Of: The Mars Volta, Sights & Sounds, The Receiving End Of Sirens, Dance Gavin Dance
Listen: facebook.com/mutinyonthebountytheband

Release Date 27.04.2012
Redfield / Best Before / Booster Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.