I just heard a new album (Melonie Bayl-Smith).....The Master Control Project

Speakers: Melonie Bayl-Smith

Melonie Bayl-Smith: Hi, my name is Melanie Bayl- Smith. I'm co-owner of Rocky Road Records, a record shop in Sydney. We're on the north shore in Artarman And I've been given this record by Suitcase Records to review and it's called After Midnight by MCP - Master Control Project. They're an Australian group and I'm going to review that today.

Melonie Bayl-Smith: The standout track for me on this record is track seven, the Cosmic End Point, which is also a single that the band have released from this album. I really enjoy the simple motifs. But the way that they move through the song or they're not songs because there's no singing, there's a lot of interesting samples. Well, they sound like samples from movies or soundtracks, maybe from TV, documentaries and so forth. And I like the way that it is sort of a variation on a theme almost if I was to use sort of a classical terminology when we're analyzing music. And I really enjoy it. I like the way it moves and, it has some really heavy parts. And I like the interplay of the instruments and it's a great track.

Melonie Bayl-Smith: What did I think of the record? Well, I thought it was a really interesting record. It's quite unique. It's obviously the work of three people who really believe in instrumental music. It's also a total artwork. So not only do you get the cover but inside there is because this is a limited edition. There is this poster, very cool artwork and then there is a set of three day classes and therefore also reading the comic book. So it's a bit of a total artwork. It's very concept. It's the sort of thing that I guess draws a lineage back to prog rock music from the seventies. And that's, I guess part of their DNA in a way there's definitely hints of prog rock, prog metal synthesizer rock, kind of electronic weirdness that sort of I guess starts in the late sixties and we see it come through all sorts of music. And of course, a little bit of the video game soundtrack, which is definitely their vibe when you look at the artwork. It's a very beautifully stylized piece of graphic design. and it certainly riffs off, I guess the kind of graphic language of eighties computer games, and also comic books and so forth. So there's a very keen aesthetic sense in this record and it comes through in the music, the way that they use the samples again from soundtracks, movies TV, and so forth as sort of a pastiche that kind of connects the thematic aspects of the record I think is really clever. Yeah, and I would not say this is necessarily for everyone, but it's definitely vibing music. I could see myself going on a long car trip and really turning the volume up. So if you're into those kinds of genres or if you want something a bit different, then I really think this is a great record. It's well produced. It sounds great and it looks fantastic. I do have to show you what it looks like because suitcase has done a beautiful job. Look at that. People lovely. So, yeah, I do recommend this record and you can talk the suitcase if you're interested, get your hands on it or talk to MCP. Thank you.