MELT ~ REPLICA OF MAN ... review

 

Melt, Joey Troupe (guitar/vocals); James May (bass/vocals) and J.J. Young (drums/vocals) hail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and are seasoned musicians who have achieved a wealth of experience playing and working in and around their local music scene, In 2021 Melt released their first full length album "Melt" a blend of stoner strut, hard rock swagger and off the wall punk/pop playfulness that garnered favourable responses in all the right quarters. This year the band release their second album "Replica of Man", a release that sees the band levelling up on all those elements that made their debut such an enjoyable experience by adding to their sound a little extra element of gnarl and bite.

 If you are coming to this review expecting Desert Psychlist to wax lyrical about brutal riffs, low slow dynamics and monolithic heaviness then you are going to be disappointed because Melt are more about the hardness of their rock than the heaviness of that rock, of course where there is hardness there is bound to be found some heaviness but any heaviness found on this gem of an album is more akin to the heaviness you might find on something released by a classic rock band or one of the more musical punk bands. We mentioned playfulness in this reviews opening piece and despite the quite serious lyrical subject matter, broached on songs like "Sight To See", "Diviner" and "Shame", that playfulness is a commodity that is ever present, a playfulness that presents itself in the albums strategically placed samples and also in its off-kilter vocal melodies and harmonies which are delivered in a variety of tones meters and styles throughout the albums nine song tenure. Musically these guys are on top of their game, Troupe's guitar work is a mixture of choppy chords and intricate lead, bassist May brings low liquid bounce as well as thrumming growl to the table while Young's drumming is busier than a bee and tighter than a misers purse, together they create a groove that is hard dark and complex but is at the same time upbeat, infectious and fun.

Melt do not sound like Sabbath, Zeppelin, Elder or Kyuss, neither do they sound like any of the other bands we reviewers often use as comparisons to give our readers an idea of what to expect from an album. They are not doom or heavy metal, they are not classic rock, stoner rock or punk yet there are elements of all of those genres and bands to be found in Melt's sonic attack. Melt's sound is the sound of Melt and no one else, they are unique, an enigma, a one off and we should be thankful they live among us.

Check 'em out ....

© 2023 Frazer Jones