Originally written by Chris Redar
Instrumental music is always a juggling act to pull off. One noodle-noodley too many and you’re doing a Joe Satriani impression sure to please guitar nerds and no one else. One too few and your audience is likely to be ripping a bong hit at this very moment, trying to decide whether that noise was the microwave letting them know their lean pockets are suitably heated or if the aliens are finally making their slow descent towards our living marble. Little Rock, AR’s Mainland Divide do very, very little noodling. But a jazz cigarette won’t be necessary to enjoy what is presented on their new EP, An Introduction to Moderation. What may be, however, is nothing better to do.
An Introduction to Moderation isn’t too tough a nut to crack: The songs are well-structured and well performed, and the rhythm section serves as a true backbone, which is a quality becoming all too rare these days. The guitars are big without sounding obnoxious or over-the-top at any point. What’s missing is that all too important X-factor of energy and/or excitement. Opener “Ellysaun” constantly hints at bringing some kind of thunder, and at the 1:48 mark, said thunder is brought. And then that thunder just kind of hangs around for a minute and subsides. As mentioned, it all sounds good, but it lacks that certain something that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
As with most instrumental music (in my humble opinion, anyway), the song titles don’t do much to implicate any kind of meaning or elicit a response. Take “The Rumble,” for example: what comes to mind is one of two things – a jungle for said rumble, with butterflies floating and bees stinging. In other words, fight music. The other is hunger. A stomach gurgling, wishing to be filled with the finest of sustenance. With this in mind, the last thing expected is a Mastodon-style gallop followed by a Hendrixian swirling outro. Again, it sounds good. In fact, it’s probably the second-best cut on the record. It just misses the mark with its emotive response, leaving you hungry for… Oh, wait, maybe they nailed it! Clever dogs, those Mainland Divide lads are.
This is a very important point about to be made about this album, and may very well negate everything else said here: the title track might just be perfect. As the longest song presented (6:22), you are provided with just the right amount of build, and then right around the halfway point… BAM. A riff straight from whatever you envision heaven to be. This is the epitome of great instrumental music; the guitars ARE the lyrics, man. Simply stunning. You know what? Here, listen to the damn thing. (It’s track four, but feel free to listen to the rest of the album).
Seriously, this could have been the entire 28 minutes and I would have been good with it.
As a complete package, An Introduction to Moderation is adequate. There isn’t anything here that’s not enjoyable. This could be on in the background at any given moment and people in the room would be like “yeah, they’re pretty good,” and then go back to talking about how upset they are with Sandra Oh leaving Grey’s Anatomy. However, there’s also not a great deal of fun or excitement, which may also lead to people talking about how upset they are with Sandra Oh leaving Grey’s Anatomy. For seven bucks, though, you could do a lot worse.
