Showing posts with label MESH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MESH. Show all posts
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Happy 18th Birthday To MESH
Our debut album MESH was released on February 1st, 2000. Happy 18th birthday to our debut album!
Wednesday, June 06, 2001
Full MESH Review: June 6, 2001
Once again, it's Columbus, Ohio calling. Is there something in the air, water, or sewer system that is breeding flocks of talented musicians from the underground? Those of you out there who are wondering where to find all the good bands these days... get thee to Columbus!
The Stepford Five, duly noted as a four-piece (I'm sure that one never gets old, does it guys?), is the latest and greatest in a gaggle of midwestern bands that are gunning for the great industry brass ring. Keith Jenkins (vocals and guitar), Jason Dziak (guitar and keys), Tim Minneci (bass), and Mark Kovitya (drums) have somehow managed to channel some of my favorite bands through their very own amplifiers and somehow kept their sound original and fresh. There are some very obvious influences at work here, and for those of you out there who revere the Afghan Whigs, Catherine Wheel, The Stones, the underappreciated Howlin' Maggie, and the late, visionary Jeff Buckley, then this band is FOR YOU. Read no further, just click down below and buy the damn disc.
For those of you still reading, take note. The Stepford Five takes a soulful approach to guitar-drenched rock, breaking traditional and archetypal sounds in two, and experimenting with the underbelly of rhythm and melody. By "soulful", I'm sure you can gather what I mean, but I'm going to explain it anyway just in case you all have actually been listening to commercial radio schlock lately. Soul is passionate, raw, fluid, and lush. But most of all it's personal, uniquely adaptable to every individual, and gushing with energy. And all of these characteristics can be used to describe MESH. While they may experience a few pitfalls along the way due to the uncanny resemblances to the aforementioned Whigs, this is in no means an imitative approach to music-making and appears to be a sound that has developed straight from the psyche of all four members. And being immersed in Whig-heil! country (of which I am an active member of the regime) is bound to rub off.
The band shows great range in theme, songwriting style, and innovative use of rhythm. The first track, "Contact Illusion", sets the tone for that, with Kovitya showing his drumming chops off right away, as if they could be buried at some point. Some of the best tracks on this disc use powerful guitar chords and create a waterfall of sound, that reels and changes directions on a regular basis. "Need To Know", the Catherine-Wheel incarnate "Broken Skin", the Midnite Vulture-ish, funky Beck-ish "Get Yourself Together", "No Chance", and the Firewater-branded "Making Sound" all literally leapt out of the speakers and grabbed me by the, well, whatever...
The Stepford Five exhibit a ferociously unapologetic approach to music-making that puts MESH in the upper echelon of indie rock releases. If they keep this up, they might just take the industry by storm.
For the unabridged version of the Stepford Five and how they came to be, log onto www.stepfordfive.com
Wednesday, June 21, 2000
Full MESH Review: June 21, 2000
Here's a guitar-heavy group of 4 men who are ruining my eardrums with the damn cd player on minimum volume. However the rock they project could be worth being hearing impaired, since songs like 'Get Yourself Together' never really have a moment of come down. I'm reminded of an airplane crash without the metallic sounds scraping all over the body. Loud modern rock, nothing heavier. 'No Chance' is equally busy with electric guitar shouting. These guys are from Ohio, so perhaps being in the middle, they have to shout so the rest of the country can hear? Well, they've produced 11 songs like hard exercise, so watch your pulse.
Monday, June 12, 2000
Full MESH Review: June 12, 2000
The Stepford Five are a rare find these days, in that they actually seem to have no hang-up with good,straightforward rock. That's highlighted by "Overcoming Eve", a song that starts where the Goo Goo Dolls left off, then adds some heavy guitars to scrape a little bit of the sensitivity away. Not all of their songs (like "Strange Days" and "Get Yourself Together") are as good as this one or "No Chance", which starts out with a riff straight from Sarge, but none of them suck either. They even succeed at "Misplaced You", their attempt at a ballad. Production could be a lot better -- either that or their guitars just gravitate toward the "soundwave uglies" -- but they're a band to watch and, for label owners, a band to pursue.
Monday, April 24, 2000
Full MESH Review: April 24, 2000
Review: Mesh CD by Frank Lazar of 181.4 Dftn!
Bands that list their influences within the liner notes of its first release take a lot of guts in my opinion. Within the notes of The Stepford Five's debut, "Mesh, " the Columbus Ohio band lists power-pop bands to that of soulful rockers Afghan Whigs. "Mesh" includes some of both, and plenty of other influences upon its first release. However, unlike its influences, the band has not yet gelled as a formidable unit capable of joining the ranks of a national ac t like The Afghan Whigs or Superdrag. Where the band is original, talented and clearly capable of writing good songs, it lacks in the area of production and musical cohesiveness. What makes a band like Afghan Whigs so great is its ability to create a powerful song structure that not only displays the song but also reinforces it through a powerful music backing. The Stepford Five has not yet reached such a "plateau." "Mesh" wavers into an individual member's influences and the band does not always come together as the sum of its parts. This combined with the lead singer's limited voice makes The Stepford Five a band with very good material but desperately in need of a good vocal coach and producer. The influences are there, and the band has been able to create something original based upon those predecessors with "Mesh," but maybe The Stepford Five could do better by re-recording it.
Bands that list their influences within the liner notes of its first release take a lot of guts in my opinion. Within the notes of The Stepford Five's debut, "Mesh, " the Columbus Ohio band lists power-pop bands to that of soulful rockers Afghan Whigs. "Mesh" includes some of both, and plenty of other influences upon its first release. However, unlike its influences, the band has not yet gelled as a formidable unit capable of joining the ranks of a national ac t like The Afghan Whigs or Superdrag. Where the band is original, talented and clearly capable of writing good songs, it lacks in the area of production and musical cohesiveness. What makes a band like Afghan Whigs so great is its ability to create a powerful song structure that not only displays the song but also reinforces it through a powerful music backing. The Stepford Five has not yet reached such a "plateau." "Mesh" wavers into an individual member's influences and the band does not always come together as the sum of its parts. This combined with the lead singer's limited voice makes The Stepford Five a band with very good material but desperately in need of a good vocal coach and producer. The influences are there, and the band has been able to create something original based upon those predecessors with "Mesh," but maybe The Stepford Five could do better by re-recording it.
Thursday, April 13, 2000
Full Review and Gig Preview: April 13, 2000
The Stepford Five arrive from Columbus boasting the sparkling Modern Rock debut album MESH. The group take a wide array of AltRock influences to create a memorable mix of powerful guitar textures (recalling some of the Afghan Whigs' mid-period work) and shimmering and emotive vocal melodies. With local Pop experts Promenade and Clabbergirl on the bill, this is one solid night of creative Pop/Rock.
Friday, February 04, 2000
Bonus Pictures: February 4, 2000
Bonus pictures from February 4th, 2000 at Little Brother's in Columbus, Ohio with Templeton and Electric Porn not included in the book Are You Making A Sound? The History of The Stepford Five.
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