Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Polyphia
Label: Self-released
Release: 2014
Length: 45:00
Rating: 4/5
These days, the new generations are cranking out a ton of technically jaw-droppingly polished musicians in rock and metal. Polyphia are yet another bunch of wunderkinds from the north of the US state of Texas who, in line with the trend of how they see quality of life, spend the bulk of the 24-hour day with an instrument in their hands, locked up between four walls, sleeping next to nothing, eating next to nothing. And? They’re living their dream. So? They practice like crazy, practice and practice some more. After the up-and-coming Dallas lads put out two EPs, in 2011 and 2013 – »Ressurect« and then »Inspire« – and gradually figured out that they don’t need a vocalist in the lineup, the time was ripe for a studio debut.
You’ve got to check out the Polyphia quartet, all of you who enjoy progressive metal that sticks strictly to the textbook and doesn’t cook up wild experimental excesses that could »derail« a less demanding listener. Take the vocals away from Dream Theater, put a barrel of steroids in front of Petrucci, add a big sense of melodic aesthetics à la Enchant and a pinch of The Aristocrats’ lucidity, and you get a rough idea of what we’re talking about.
»Muse« is an exceptionally strong product for a debut. What »holds it together« is some seriously talented songwriting. The guys have a remarkable »feel« for spacing out the moments where technical complexity dominates, in their unbridled, wild shredding of note sequences, with the moments where melodic catchiness and ravenous rhythmic »groove« take the front seat. That very smart balancing of what we might call two extremes of musical expression is exactly what keeps the listener hooked the whole way through. It’s chock-full of polyrhythmic structures and syncopation; the guys really give this album their all, driven forward by huge creative enthusiasm. It’s also downright fascinating how well this album works in its accessibility, despite being a completely instrumental record that carries the »progressive« prefix. The album opens with 87 (apparently Polyphia are talking birth years, 1987), where the band grabs you instantly with a bravura performance of a fairly complex piece, and right after it comes Sweet Tea, which is toxically catchy melodically and built on a ravenous »groove«, Sweat Tea. Those moments get stretched further by Champagne, where the groove component gets intensified with a funky kick stuffed full of bass slapping. Champagne, which Polyphia also shot and released a video for, has a moment of lucidity that Polyphia show off especially in the song’s lead riff. With this very track, Polyphia express their general playfulness, cheerfulness and constant optimism in the face of the jabs of outside reality.
Two equal guitarists hand shared solos back and forth, and they never stop impressing, both with technical perfection and with musicality. There’s also plenty of harmonies in thirds, and the two guitarists often »go their separate ways«: one »airs out« the riffs with improvisations while the other holds down the backdrop of accompaniment, even adding ambient synth veils in the background! Needless to say, the guitars on this album take over the role of the vocals. »Muse« grows in the middle into a real astral experience of hypnotic rapture, when Memory and Mood Swing come one after the other and the band leans on building a backdrop of a floating weave of »exploring« guitars and synths in a cerebral soundscape.
For this album the guys called in a whole bunch of buddies as guests who have likewise made the exceptional virtues of technical guitar mastery their own. These are virtuosos, among whom Aaron Marshall (Intervals) deserves a special mention, along with Nick Johnston (who’s putting out his own album in a little over a month, with a guest spot from The Aristocrats) and Jakub Zytecki (Disperse). Each of them adds, with the specifics of their own musical perception, their own pebble to the mosaic of this record’s remarkable expressive variety. This gesture, too, shows the exceptional commitment, motivation and enthusiasm of Polyphia. As a group, they also know how to manage their money. This April, the band ran a fundraising campaign for the release of the debut. The band’s fanbase is exemplary right from the start, and so is the number of loyal supporters who reached into their pockets so that the debut »Muse« could be born at all.
Enough said. »Muse« is an extremely ambitious debut that surprises with how deftly a guitar can stand in for vocals in the lead motifs, while the purely instrumental approach actually amps up the mastery of the quartet’s unsuspected individual talents. You won’t be bored for a second on »Muse«. When the guitars gaze at ornaments in thirds, the drums suddenly »explode« in improvisational energy and fill up the »relaxed« space. Not for a moment should you overlook the pumped-up »groove« tearing at the melodic structures of the chosen bass lines. »Muse« has fused two musical »extremes« into an exceptional balance and boiled them down into a tasty musical whole that, despite the »progressive term«, you can enjoy at any moment of the day.
»Muse« is a different kind of album as a whole, then. Even though it sounds familiar and kindred, and calls to mind acts from the progressive corners of the genre, it effectively paves the band’s way to a spot of authorial uniqueness and recognizability in the otherwise saturated music scene of our times.
Lineup
Tim Henson – guitar
Scott LePage – guitar
Clay Gober – bass guitar
Randy Methe – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Aaron Marshall (Intervals) – guitar on track no. 2
Nick Johnston – guitar on track no. 3
Jason Richardson /Chelsea Grin) – guitar on track no. 4
Jakub Zytecki (Disperse) – guitar on track no. 5
Nick Sampson (I Am Abomination) – guitar on track no. 8
Mario Camarena – guitar on track no. 10.
Erick Hansel – guitar on track no. 10.
Production
Polyphia
Tracklist
1. 87
2. Sweet Tea
3. Champagne
4. Aviator
5. The Jungle
6. Memory
7. Mood Swing
8. Hourglass
9. James Franco
10. Baditude
11. Finale
