Meese

Broadcast

[3/5]

It would be unfair to compare to Denver quartet Meese to fellow Colorado band the Fray. It’s true that both hail from a relatively small scene that’s been spawning more bands in recent years. It’s also true that both bands pen radio-ready, faux-indie pop songs driven by piano-laced melodies and their respective singers’ mopey vocals. Here’s the thing, though: The Fray are undeniably boring. Meese manage, for the most part, to make the subtle songs on their debut lovely and nuanced rather than dull.

The title track (one of the album’s more urgent numbers) and the opening “Forward Motion” showcase four songwriters who are interested in crafting lush soundscapes equally influenced by pop and indie rock, much like their summer tourmate Jack’s Mannequin. The recent single “Next In Line” comes across as a little forced, whereas “Forward Motion” and the Something Corporate-ish “The Quiet Side” are compelling and quietly emotive. “Next In Line” is moderately formulaic and ultimately a poor representation of the album as a whole.

There are two ways Meese could go as a band–both of which are evident by their choice of recent tourmates. They could blow up, buffer out any sense of real humanity in their music and become the next Fray or Keane; or they could refuse to downplay the slight edge and emotion contained in their songs, take some cues from Andrew McMahon and show the world that music like this doesn’t have to be boring. (ATLANTIC) Emily Zemler


GO DOWNLOAD:“Forward Motion”