Geek-Rock, Thy Torch Has Been Passed
Built By Snow demands to be noticed
Built By Snow
Mega
Released on Jan 20, 2009
Just a few seconds into Built By Snow’s Mega, you wonder if you’re listening to some experimental techno band or an 80’s pop act. The reality isn’t really anywhere near either of those. The Austin, Texas based guys of Built By Snow have a sound that is something like Weezer (pre-Maladroit) meets The Rentals thrown into the mix. The instrumental opening track “Giant Robot Attack”, isn’t really a good barometer of what the band’s overall sound is, but it does serve as a good jumping-off point and it’s after this intro that Mega really shines.
“Something in 3D” is two
minutes of poppy goodness based around a simple synth lick and background
vocals. There’s not a single element of the track that’s out of
place or distracting. The lead vocal track could easily be Rivers
Cuomo and the synth/background vocal baseboard that’s established
at the track’s outset is eased off midway through the track, giving
a brief reprieve from a sound that could easily become annoying if it
were repeated over the entire course of the song.
Roughly halfway through Mega, we arrive at “Implode Alright”, an 8-bit offering that
removes traditional instruments from the fray, with the exception of
an occasional bass drum or hi-hat hit here and there. The relative
simplicity of the song is really where its appeal lies. The rest
of the album is loud and fast by comparison with distorted guitars and
emphatic vocal tracks. “Implode Alright” is a quick breath
of air before diving back in for the rest of the album.
The pacing of the album works very well. Mega begins on a high and slows slightly with “Implode Alright”. Where some might just jump immediately back to the original quick pace that had been established, Built By Snow go the less jarring route and gradually ramp things up until things peak on “Invaders”, which mixes the band’s pop-rock and 8-bit influences into a song that can easily make its way into regular rotation on your music delivery system of choice.
If there’s one knock against Built By Snow’s sophomore effort, it’s that the album is incredibly short. The nine tracks clock in at an astonishingly short 21 minutes and 10 seconds. While none of the songs feel like they end prematurely, the album does feel that way. The band may have been better off waiting until they had a few more songs to add before releasing Mega. However, if given a choice between a short album that leaves me desperately wanting more and a long, drawn out affair that leaves me comatose or searching for some way to dull the pain…I’ll take the short album every time.
Overall, Mega is an outstanding effort, if quite a bit on the short side. Keep an eye on Built By Snow. For a band that sounds like the best elements of Weezer blended with The Rentals, the future should be a bright one.
High Point
"Invaders" is a perfect blending of rock and 8-bit nerdyness that is easy to love.
Low Point
The album is way too short. It should have been twice as long.
Posted by Cory Roop on Jan 19, 2009 @ 9:05 am