Melba Toast

Generally, I find Melba toast rather dry and bland. But at two in the morning when hunger strikes and the cupboards are relatively bare, I find them to be adequate in meeting my hunger needs in such unfortunate circumstances. Fortunately, the band of the same name doesn’t need cheese spread to make it interesting. They do that well enough on their own by presenting a debut album that sounds like they haven’t quite made up their mind who they want to be.

The album opens with the cymbal-heavy “Check Your Head,” an energetic and high-tempo pop/rock kick start. With a solo that brings to mind a little influence from Tom Morello, the track promises fun rock with a strong backbone. But strangely, it becomes clear almost immediately that Melba Toast has more up their sleeve than is initially realized.

While a few other songs on the album follow the lead of the opening track (including the bonus track), Melba Toast also takes the grunge route. Most of the album’s ten tracks have a harder edge and a raw sound. For example, “Madison” is heavily Nirvana-esque, and the slower and lazy “Screwball” sounds like a cross between Stone Temple Pilots and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Similarly, “Shoot the Breeze” follows the trend with darker riffs and a weighty tempo.

Granted, the two kinds of rock can work together. Although not consistent, they are similar sounding. But for a random chunk right smack in the middle of the album, they seem to take a completely different turn. With a happier, lighter feel with casual acoustic guitar, bare-bones vocals, and honest lyrics, songs like “Flake” and “Humdrum” seem to take a completely different tack, devoid of the hard-edge of the rest of the album. Frankly, it’s a little schizophrenic. The final listed song on the album, “Lucky Day to Lose,” although beautiful (and seemingly experimental with harmonicas and saxophones), sticks out especially being sandwiched between two harder-edged tracks.

Overall, I’ll hand it to them. On its own, each song is as strong as the next. They’re entertaining, well-written, and obviously honest proof of the band’s talent. But as an album, it’s confusing as all hell. Since the album was released, the band has gained two more members and a fair amount of time behind them, so hopefully they’ve settled on a sound. They can successfully work everything they’ve tried — just not all at the same time, and especially not all on the same album.

www.melbatoastmusic.com
www.myspace.com/melbatoast - Cdreviews.com Kristen Brown

Genre: Indie Rock
Web site: melbatoastmusic.com
Location: Greenville, Texas

Enjoy the musical flavor of Melba Toast. It may be crunchy on the outside but deep down lies the soft interworkings of something greater and meaningful.

If one had to pigeonhole the up-and-coming Greenville quartet's latest release, it would be a hybrid between Tom Petty and Creedence Clearwater Revival, sprinkled with modern rockers Built to Spill and My Morning Jacket, to form a tasty treat for your ears to dine on.

Trip The Light is well produced and cleanly mastered, the songs are well written, and the performances are solid. The band shows signs of maturity from their self-titled release, not only in quality but in a sense of identity.

"Screwball," the opening track introduces with warm guitars and raw emotion, interlaced with soft harmonies in the chorus. This is a far cry from their self-titled opening track "Check Yr Head."

The stand-out track on the EP "Icy Sleep," feature powerful vocals and a definite kick, a welcomed change from the other tracks recorded.

"Yellowbelly," is a newer track and change of pace for the band. One could describe it as a southern rock melody that likens to an old Petty arrangement, but with a modern twist, and Mixson's melodic voice.

Perhaps the catchiest cut on the recording is "New Junk," with the chorus line: "I'm alone right in your car/Drive my heart down in the dark/Shut my eyes and wait for dawn." and a toe-tapping rhythm to boot.

In the final track, the bands creative versatility and musical proficiency show in the mellow love song "City Life."

Trip The Light is an accurate representation of where Melba Toast is heading - and the destination is definitely not bland or tasteless.

Produced by John Kent
Engineered by John Kent and Randy Fuller at the Vault Studio, Celeste, Texas
Mastered by Jerry Tubbs at Terra Nova - The East Texan