Artist review: Meese

By Scott Brown
Music Therapy

So the only disc I have from Meese right now is Our Album Year (Thanks to Jeanie -- otherwise I'd have none!) That, and I have listened to a few tracks off of their new album, Broadcast.

For the most part, I almost would quote from my Elana Rogers review: There's nothing really wrong with the musicianship. Problem is, they kinda all sound the same. Or maybe, they sound like stuff I'd hear on mainstream radio. And I gotta tell ya - you've probably guessed by now -- I don't listen to mainstream radio. I like the quirky, I like the odd stuff with the vocal that is unusual, I like hearing sounds and music I don't usually hear.

Sure, you'll hear things from this blog/podcast that are pretty poppy -- like Meese -- but for whatever reason, at least to me, they stand out. And I try to tell you, when I can, why those things stand out for me.

That all said -- there's one song off of Our Album Year, "Only Me (Two Books)," that does catch me.
(Here's a link to a live version -- sorry about the sound quality.)

Now, why this song? It's actually a small snippet of the lyrics: "My heart is in this, I haven't changed -- yet." I guess it's the juxtaposition -- this sweet, poppy song, this statement that sounds like reassurance, and then this very subtle undercut in the sentiment.

I love that kind of stuff. That's the kind of thing that makes a song stick for me, and the difference of one song among many.

And I think that's all I have to say about that!

Check out Scott's Music Therapy blog at http://scottbrown.typepad.com/music_therapy/