Quote:
Originally Posted by toretorden
Great review! I thought it was really good .. 
Normally, I wouldn't write constructive feedback, but since you're a writer, there is some info I'm missing. First off, is the band called MRI or is it an acronym? And also, is this the band's debut album?
In addition to a song for song review, I like it when there are just a few thoughts or impressions from the album as a whole ..
I hope you don't take take my feedback the wrong way. It's not intended as that at all. I consider some of the reviews on MB to be real treasures and yours is a really good contribution and an enjoyable read.
Grats on your first review! |
Thank you for letting me know this. I am difident by nature...so I need to feel passionately about something in order to write about it and show to others.
Also, I was rather shocked this morning reading the posts about folks not wanting to listen to the album becasue of the title; and it almost made me never want to write a review here again ( I would like to review a Floyd album and Another Morning Stoner too ) feeling that it is a waste of time for me and for the readers.
To answer your questions: I have a copy of
Where Parallel Lines Meet that I bought at a show last year...but I think there have been a few incarnations of the tracklistings since. I know that they have been working with Eric Greedy ( who porduced HURT Vol 1 and Vol 2 ) after being scouted in Germany and Eric has been working on
Parallel as MRI's debut official release. MRI has its own label from what I understand and are releasing an EP too this year called "Now And Xyen" with mostly reggae, ska, and dance-techno songs.
As far as being an acronym, I am not sure. I asked Daren about the band name in relation to the band's website ( MediumRangeIntelligence.com ) and Daren said "Oh I never realized the coincidence" but added "we are MRI", and left it at that. I asked them about the fact that on some OMDs they are being indexed with a German microhous duo from the late 90's of the same name and Alan said "we never heard of them until we saw the cross-indexing on last FM, and we don't really care either since this is not a popularity contest. We simply are who we are. Let the world decide what MRI means."
You asked me for my overall impression of
Where Parallel Lines Meet. I wish I had a place to post the lyrics of the songs in my review...as I get the same feeling about MRI that I do about Radiohead albums in that often, I have no idea what Daren is saying/singing until I have the lyrics in front of me. Then, some songs take on an entirely new meaning when you finally find out what you have been humming along all the time. For instance, I thought that "Helicopter Head" made no sense at all until you read the lyrics, and then you see it is about spiritual enlightenment and being "all-seeing and all-knowing" at all times...
Turn your head around...can you see...361 degrees...
I go see and review bands for a living. Rarely am I ever impressed, especially these past few years...pickings are slim for bands to get excited about. MRI is probably my favorite new artists and I am excited about them the same was I was excited about Nirvana in the 90s.