Mind Spiders – Meltdown

There aren’t many surprises when it comes to albums released on Dirtnap Records.  It’s just a given that there will be some degree of fuzz and loads of repetition, the question is simply how much and to what effect.  With Denton, Texas Mind Spiders’ sophomore full length, Meltdown, the answer is a respective a lot and loads.  Falling somewhere between the barebones pop-punk of The Ramones and static flooded landscape of the late Jay Reatard, the album plays out as textbook noise punk ready to be lapped up by the Pitchfork crowd and misunderstood by the masses.

Marked by a classic side A and side B division, Meltdown opens with a dead simple commitment to fuzzed over three-chord pop punk.  “You Are Dead” scratches along with a minimalistic melody and steady rhythm fueled guitar that frames the formula.  Like a less dynamic version of indie favourite Wavves, the band throws in a few scattered guitar spikes in follow-up “Beat.”  Even with most songs blurring together into a hazy mass, the band’s energy remains steady on the side at any given moment, with “Play You Out” marking one of the few distinctly memorable moments.

In an effort to skirt repetition and maintain interest for the full eleven tracks, Side B draws upon a synthy experimental approach.  Front man Mark Ryan integrates reverberating, 50’s inspired sci-fi effects in conjunction with the usual stationary guitar tones, bestowing a dark, almost menacing presence.  Tracks like “Skull Eyed” and “Join Us Now” seemingly come from a different planet than their counterparts.  A pulsing synth glow aligns with hypnotic drums for a trance effect best described as the audio equivalent to the album’s swirling cover art.  The effect works because of the attention to mood, explaining why the sunnier counterparts “Fall In Line” and “Upside Down” end up in the shadow of the more remarkable.

While I started out favouring side A, it has become the latter’s unique take on eerie sci-fi effects that has held my interest when revisiting Meltdown.   As previously mentioned, the target simplicity that Mind Spiders aspire to is familiar ground, and entering this review I wasn’t overly impressed by the disc.  Ironically, after repeat listens I’ve come to appreciate some of the more subtle risks and intricacies informing this repetitive style.  True, not every song succeeds, and there’s evidence of self-indulgence that will turn some away (that final crawling instrumental title track is a bit much), but as a whole Meltdown works.  Fans of garage punk should get a lot of mileage out of this one.