Mesh -- Mesh: Review

Mesh -- Mesh [s/r]

*eerie spooky wind wounds*

In the deep, dark caverns of Bandcamp, there lay beasts of many forms. One trip into its hallowed halls and you’re bound to encounter ghosts and ghouls teaming from every hole in the walls. Some of the monsters you might see include bloated death metal/shoegaze/emo demo tapes which would scare the socks off of any Spotify pop pleb or 2-3 track folk EP’s from artists who dare not write anything that doesn’t sound at least like the Beatles, Fleet Foxes, or Big Thief.

But every once in a while--by that I mean every month when a “Bandcamp’s Best of the Month” comes out-- these creatures are released to the surface, and find themselves in the hands of brave monster hunters who search for obscure, deep cut music releases to seem cool to their friends--me.

Annnd that’s how I found Mesh.

And I’m damn glad I did! For a short ~12 minute EP, it packs a punch and shows a band with a distinct tone from just their debut EP. This self-titled debut self-released on BandCamp is 5 short but sweet tracks that shows a band in its early stages embodying strong influences while still sticking out in their catchiness and tight performances.

It starts with “CIA Mind Control” which channels eerie paranoia in swerving chord switches and strong musical chemistry. The mix sounds raw and unleashed but still comes off as artfully crafted to accentuate the harsh edges of the guitars and drums. Speaking of guitars, the band shows creative interweaving guitars on this track, clashing twangy high-end strums with a meaty distorted fuzz riff in the background--well-balanced stuff.

“Company Jeep” busts through with the catchiest lick on the album, allowing britpop-y strumming to take to the foreground, and it just makes you wanna move your bod bud! At this point I’ll acknowledge the voice-box vocals which are harsh but still charismatic, and allow for this garage punk attitude to come through in spades.

“Traveler” certainly embodies its title with its linear structure and kaleidoscopic guitar lines to feel like a mini-punk journey in its tight 2-and-a-half minutes. Here the band plays around with buzzy synths that scrape against the guitars in a dissonant but satisfying way.

“Missing Link” exudes garage punk anthem energy in its playful chromatic licks and its vague comedic vocals which call the listener the missing link(?). Not sure what it means, but I love the insistent groove on this one with its driving drum beat that nearly pushes into drum ‘n’ bass territory with its straight-faced repetition. I can almost feel the blisters on my hands just listening to it.

“Ur Dead” doesn’t really cover much new territory as its closer, but nicely echoes some of the tightest aspects Mesh has shared throughout the EP so far. From its dark doo-wop vocals to its synth fuckery in the second half, it’s good fun.

Mesh presents themselves as a robust force-of-nature on this debut, serving some tight garage punk for a strong 12-minute EP.

RIYL: Ty Segall, Jay Reatard, Oh Sees

Listen To: “Company Jeep”, “CIA Mind Control”, “Traveler”

7.3/10.