Mesmere
An Overlong Welcome
© 2006 Mesmere (634479282270)
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Mesmere blend genres artfully to weave a tapestry stunning in its complexity and beauty, but eminently listenable, finding a balance between emotion and intrigue, peace and unease. ‘An Overlong Welcome’ chimes where it should and punishes appropriately.
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About 'An Overlong Welcome'.
Suave modern rock fraught with jazz and tinged with subtlety, the debut longplayer from Brisbane-based 5 piece Mesmere, An Overlong Welcome is an ethereal exploration of texture and dynamics.
From the dangerously evocative ‘Corridors’ through to riff heavy closer ‘The Finalist’ Mesmere bear an innate ability to construct off the cuff almost leeringly effective melodies whilst maintaining a deceivingly even musical flow. The rhythm guitar in particular reliably offering a succinct counter approach to what could easily be plunked out in paint to numbers manner.
Track # 2, the Daniel Jones (Savage Garden) produced ‘Keepsakes’ hums along with enough pizzazz to stick where it ought to and enough flutter to suspend itself artfully.
Lingering tastes here are reminiscent of a Portishead styled tendency towards soundscape coupled with Evanescence like vocal sustenance and Mesmere's own musical transgression thereof. An Overlong Welcome chimes where it should and punishes appropriately.
Evan Alexander – TheBlurb.com
About Mesmere.
Brisbane-based Mesmere, a staple of the Australian progressive art-rock scene, is on the verge of exploding onto a worldwide stage.
That soon-to-be global leap was as least part of the reasoning that led the band, formerly known as Mosaic, to change its name. “It was a very hard decision to make; there’s always so much history with a band name,” said Maryanne Stewart, Mesmere vocalist. “With the evolving musical direction of the new album, I think Mesmere evokes the emotion of our sound perfectly.”
That compelling sound is propelling their new album, “An Overlong Welcome,” onto the international scene. The album features, “Keepsakes,” a track produced, recorded and mixed by Savage Garden’s Daniel Jones at his Meridien Musik studio.
The band, whose name derives from the word “mesmerize,” does just that by weaving a tapestry that is stunning in its complexity and beauty—but eminently listenable. Their music blends genres artfully, providing a listener with the opportunity to groove on the melodic and harmonic offerings, or immerse oneself in layer after layer of sound.
Lewis Benbow (guitars) and Jamie Burrows (bass) were bandmates from childhood. After school, the pair moved to Brisbane where Lewis met Jeremy Wellard (guitars) and Maryanne Stewart (vocals) while studying jazz improvisation. Dion Murtagh (drums) joined about nine months ago, completing the current lineup.
But it’s not the coming together that defines Mesmere as much as the sheer diversity of experience they bring to the stage and recording studio. From performing in metal, funk, jazz and rock bands to writing and performing theatre, this is a group of artists that’s not inclined to enforce a rigid style of performance.
Instead, their music has evolved organically as each member continues to develop his or her art. This refusal to limit ideas has led to some very interesting (and, says the band, “strange”) music, and based on their rapidly growing fan base, it’s a concept that is working very well.
Their willingness to experiment derives, perhaps, from the broad spectrum of influences that informs their work: Pink Floyd, Tori Amos, Radiohead, Tool, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, and Janis Joplin, among others.
Critically-acclaimed for the epic nature of their sound, Mesmere is at home in large venues where they can fill space with big sound and visual projection, but they are able to create intimate moments during which the audience hangs off of Stewart’s every word.
Mesmere’s music strikes a fine balance: between beauty and destruction, peace and unease. Listeners are swept into a raging torrent of sound that builds and builds to crashing crescendos, all the while being seduced by intriguing stories and rich emotion.
www.mesmere.com
www.myspace.com/mesmere
reviews
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Mesmerizing !
author: Laura T Lynch of Kweevak.comThe band's two guitarists and rhythm section craft a colorful, organic spectrum of sound. The name Mesmer is derived from the word mesmerize, which describes the effect that they hope their music will have on people. Mesmere's sound melds modern and progressive rock in songs that are edgy, expansive and experimental. Their diverse, eleven-track CD features multi-layered songs that are epic in structure. I particularly liked "Keepsakes" with its dynamic instrumentation and dramatic vocals. "An Overlong Welcome" was also interesting as it starts off with gospel like vocals before moving into a spacey, wild soundscape. Mesmere will hold your attention with their innovative An Overlong Welcome album!
An Overlong Welcome chimes where it should and punishes appropriately.
author: Evan AlexanderSuave modern rock fraught with jazz and tinged with subtlety, the debut longplayer from Brisbane-based 5 piece Mesmere, An Overlong Welcome is an ethereal exploration of texture and dynamics. From the dangerously evocative ‘Corridors’ through to riff heavy closer ‘The Finalist’ Mesmere bear an innate ability to construct off the cuff almost leeringly effective melodies whilst maintaining a deceivingly even musical flow. The rhythm guitar in particular, reliably offering a succinct counter approach to what could easily be plunked out in paint to numbers manner. Track # 2, the Daniel Jones (Savage Garden) produced ‘Keepsakes’ hums along with enough pizzazz to stick where it ought to and enough flutter to suspend itself artfully. Lingering tastes here are reminiscent of a Portishead styled tendency towards soundscape coupled with Evanescence like vocal sustenance and Mesmere's own musical transgression thereof. An Overlong Welcome chimes where it should and punishes appropriately.
Ambient rock
author: Collected SoundsThe songs are pretty and even eerie at times. I like the use of dissonant chords and the vocals are haunting. Its somewhere between rock and ambient I'd say. A little more hard than your average shoegazer fare. But not quite Evanescence.