Mind Spiders: Meltdown

Mind Spiders
Meltdown
Dirtnap Records [2012]









Fire Note Says: Mind Spiders return on sophomore record with a full band and lots of new ideas!

Album Review:
Meltdown is the second album from Mark Ryan's (Marked Men, High Tension Wires) Mind Spiders and it comes at you just 13 months after the groups self-titled debut. The sound here remains familiar as Meltdown once again pours a full garage rock experience into a little over 30 minute running time while including elements of lo-fi, psychedelic, surf, 60's pop and experimental noise.

This description might make you might think that Meltdown is a simple Mind Spiders Part II but sonically the record surpasses the debut as it features a full live band compared to the more cut and paste nature the first go around as Ryan basically played all the instruments himself. Here he includes members of the Bad Sports, High Tension Wires, Marked Men, Uptown Bums and some other members of his extended musical family.

The result is an album that is tighter, more propulsive and contains a bit more punch. A big part of this livelier sound is the fact that there are two drummers which gives many of the songs a percussion complexity that helps the Mind Spiders stand out. It also helps that this rhythm backbone rocks these tracks out and with everything else covered, Ryan is completely focused on his vocals which are delivered here with a winning confidence and intensity.

The other big difference on Meltdown is that the record has two very distinct sides as the first six tracks represent a more straightforward garage rock while the remaining five songs experiment more and find themselves diving into other genres as the swirling synthesizers, darker mood and distorted vocals move to the forefront. Some might be concerned that this is distracting or possibly a failed risk but in actuality the Mind Spiders score a perfect balance here as it shows that they are way more than a one trick pony and the diversity makes Meltdown much more intriguing with every spin you give it!

Key Tracks: "Wait For Us", "Beat", "Skull Eyed"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Cloud Nothings
Man Or Astro-Man?
Buzzcocks

Mind Spiders: Mind Spiders [Fire Note Review 1/27/11]
Marked Men: Ghosts [Fire Note Review 3/5/09]

Mind Spiders Facebook
Dirtnap Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony