The Mobius Band
Three EP
(Prescription Rails)
On their first two releases (One and Two EP), The Mobius Band worked a slick mixture of rock, funk, and electronic music, always ratcheting up the release in spots for a track that kicked out the cobwebs a bit. On this, their newest six-song EP, it seems like they might have reached a point where they just want to chill out for awhile. While there are still some electronic beats on the disc, the group sounds more like they're sliding into more of a structured band territory, and while that means a generally more friendly listening experience, it's just not quite as interesting as their previous efforts.
After opening with the warm reverb guitar melodies and live drum beat of the instrumental "Frozen Lake In Unison," the disc launches into the most interesting track (and one of the more stylistically different tracks that the group has ever done) in "Burnoff." Rumbling along with a downright proggy progression, layers of keyboards and warm vocals provide a somewhat soothing vibe over buzzing synths, while things threaten to go out-of-control with little bursts of feedback, odd electronic squelches and a punchy drum track.
From there, the album sort of veers off into pretty safe territory. "Arrows" has a bit of a thump in the programmed beats, but the crooning vocals and strummed guitars soften it considerably. "Well-Thumbed Page" mixes some buzzy keyboards and chimes with another pitter-patter beat for a pretty, but meandering instrumental. Things pick up pretty nicely for the second half of the longer EP closer of "Plastic Pillar," but ends just as it's reaching a nice peak, it drops off and the EP is over. Although the abundance of more 'band-like' slower tracks on the release didn't appeal to me quite as much, they definitely have a more mainstream appeal that might pull in some more fans for the young group. Over the course of three different EP releases now, they've shown quite a talent for pulling off a lot of different sounds, and I'm betting they come back with a strong release in the near future.
Rating: 6.5
