Four Days Living Off The Grid. Part II
What I learned about my taste in music after not having access to a phone or Internet.
Part II: Of Mice & Men
If you haven’t followed my Four Days Living Off The Grid project you can get the recap here. Jumping into things, last night I listened to the self-titled album Of Mice & Men by the Orange County band of the same name. I was a big, big fan of their 2011 album “The Flood” so I thought; their earlier shit must be good also, right? Well, not all things are good in the beginning. The thing was, I couldn’t recall ever listening to the album. I feel like I bought it then sent it to purgatory in my iPod to rot until one lonely stormy night I would be scrolling through it and say something along the lines of “oh shit, haven’t heard these guys in forever.” Then I would listen to one or two songs and pass the fuck out. So last night I bunkered down, tossed back a few Modelo’s and listened to the entire album. All I can say is HOLE-E-FUCK. I knew these perky California boys knew how to throw down, I had seen them live a few times back in college but damn, a small downgrade from “The Flood.”
Of Mice & Men by Of Mice & Men Released (March 9th, 2010)
Initial emotions: optimistic, relaxed, focused
July 13th 2015, 843PM Modelo: Your probably reading this and thinking, “This guy has no idea what he’s talking about, the original core of the band is what made them legit.” Well, I’m not saying this album was dog shit, I bought it for a legitimate reason, I was interested in the band. But, with Jerry Roush at the front line, they just killed it. So without taking anything away from the bands core lineup or taking this to a place of whether or not the band is good, let us begin. Of Mice & Men specifically on this album is composed of: Austin Carlile- Lead Vocals, Phil Manansala- Lead Guitar, Valentino Arteaga- Drums, Jaxin Hall- bass, and Shayley Bourget- Rhythm Guitar. Once again there were three songs that stood out to me so here they are in order.
The Ballad of Tommy Clayton & The Rawdawg Millionaire
Granted this is the debut album, I still keep thinking back to the tone of “The Flood” so I will try and hold my bias in check. The Ballad of Tommy Clayton & The Rawdawg Millionaire has some pretty good breakdowns. What really stood out to me is Carlile’s hook and clean vocal portion.
“Oh faithful, I’m amazed to find you look that way.”
“Oh faithful, put away the pills come waste away with me.”
The way the hook lines up with Arteaga’s drum solos gives me chills. Although the song opens up pretty mellow, the meat of the song hits home towards the end. For me, I’m more a sick breakdown kinda guy, give me some fluff lyrics but some thrashing guitar and I’m good to go.
Second & Sebring
This song gave me a more vicious break down that I’m custom to. The 1:02 mark provides a nice throw down between Manansala and Arteaga mixed with Carlile’s crushing voice, giving one a slight chub. It picks up the tempo sending the song into a sick double bass breakdown finally wrapping it up with some clean vocals.
“This is not what it is, only baby scars.”
“I need your love like a boy needs his mother’s side.”
The breakdowns behind these lyrics ended the song on a pretty high note, which I for one had been waiting for.
Those In Glass Houses
Now this was the Of Mice & Men I had been waiting for! Arteaga simply destroys it on the drums. The opening cuts right to the throat leaving no man standing. Why wasn’t this on display throughout the entire album?
“You can pay for school.”
“But you can’t buy class.”
Probably the best lyrics of the entire song followed by one fucking hell of a double bass session by Arteaga, leaving me with full on metal wood! Had this been the last song on the album I would have been completely satisfied with this early lineup.
Of Mice & Men has come a long way from this, what I feel, half hearted still finding their identity type of sound. Granted they are still fairly young with three albums under their belt, this debut material was a bit soft. Sadly I felt I wasted a few good beers powering through this album, but in the end still much love for the California boys.
Feelings after listening: exhausted, disappointed
Grade: C+
