Punknews.orgPunknews.org Logo
Review Navigator

BackForward

Features

 

Contests

 


Reviews



While browsing this site I came upon Tera Melos, a band who had been described as caP'n Jazz meets Black Flag with a near dangerous live show. My interest peaked; I decided to pick up their untitled debut from Springman Records. While their sound leans more towards the former, they more than overshadow many current punk bands in pure intensity. Most instrumental music by nature is at least a little experimental mostly due to necessity (few people want to listen to a 3-minute radio rock song with no vocals); Tera Melos take this to a higher degree delivering over an hour of dynamic indie punk. All this comes in 8 tracks, each simply dubbed melody ("Melody 1," "Melody 2," etc.) and almost half the length coming from a single track.

A distinctive element of Tera Melos’ songwriting is their refusal to rely on repetition, instead using up-tempo, quickly shifting rock riffs. While some repetition is used, the group never allows their songs to stagnate. The group also employs intermittent electronic flourishes throughout the album, likening themselves to fellow instrumental group Pele. A minimalist approach is taken with certain songs such as "Melody 5" where the guitars and drums are dropped and an electronic/piano combination takes over for the last couple of minutes of the song.

Although long song lengths are almost expected with instrumental groups, Tera Melos try to change it up with "Melody 1" being just over a minute and "Melody 8" nearly 30. A personal standout for me lies in the middle, with "Melody 4," which combines the best elements of their songwriting with an infectious central riff creating a highly enjoyable track. The final track begins as a guitar/drum-driven punk song and eventually becomes a more ambient, electronic-based piece. Many parts of this track demand your attention but unfortunately I found myself zoning out and at other times bored.

With mentions of 'half-hour' and 'electronica-based songs,' I expect some might be turned off. I suggest that you try this anyway, as Tera Melo’s debut may not provide for an entirely easy listen, but it is still an enjoyable one.



People who liked this also liked:
Paint It Black - ParadiseSublime - 40 oz. to FreedomAgainst Me! - is Reinventing Axl RoseRefused - The Shape of Punk to ComeAgainst Me! - As The Eternal CowboyAgainst Me! - Searching For A Former ClarityOperation Ivy - Operation IvyAlkaline Trio - GoddamnitFugazi - 13 SongsMinor Threat - Complete Discography



Please login or register to post comments.
What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
  • Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
  • Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
  • Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 27, 2006 at 1:28 AM (EST)

    you have to see this band live to really appreciate what they got going on! i know alot of people say that about bands but this is forsure! just mindblowing!

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-28 22:08:23

    holy shit

    this is awesome

    Posted by Infrarecon on 2005-11-26 23:38:03

    I probably worded my original comment badly, but I didn't really take offense. I obviously really liked the album and though I did say something later I stll say that I obviously could have missed something and that I resect your right to differ on this.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 10:26 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    tera melos guy:
    really excellent and technical songs! i'm diggin it!
    next album, name one "hammer on/off" for me.
    thanks,

    .:grumpy:.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 8:37 PM (EST)

    hello.

    the reason you were cited as "not understanding melody 8" is because we had very specific intentions for that piece of music. it was created 100% for ourselves and we had a lot of fun doing it. it's something we've always wanted to experiment with and couldn't be happier with the end result, (however the initial goal was to record 45 minutes of sound and unfortunately we ran out of hard drive space at 28 minutes.)

    sorry if you took offense to the "not understanding it" comment, that wasn't the point. plus a lot of people don't understand our band/music and that's part of what makes it so fun.

    thanks for the awfully kind review and everyone else for the nice words.

    -a guy in tera melos

    Posted by sickboi on 2005-11-25 12:37:10

    Anchors is totally right on this one.

    I'm not saying I never get anything for free, or that I've never downloaded, but for christ sakes, don't be a staff member and come on the message board asking for someone to help you download an album. That just makes the site and those who contribute look worse.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 3:32 AM (EST)

    someone needs to put reviews of the Fest up

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-11-24 17:06:23

    Hahaha I was actually going to say to Will, "I'll only agree if the ring ropes are razor wire."

    But that's awesome, wish I could have gone to the fest. Did they play "The Eye Is A Tricky Machine" and/or "Fortune Teller?"

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 4:29 PM (EST)

    BTW Anchors,

    I saw Hot Cross at The Fest this past Saturday and they tore it up.

    .......

    And Will,

    Backyard wrestling is a fantastic idea. If you provide the cheese grater, I'll provide the two by fours wrapped with razor wire AND those long tube light bulbs.

    thanks,

    kliph

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-11-24 14:17:35

    What's sad is that you probably weren't being facetious.

    Posted by Crookedsuperhero on 2005-11-24 13:43:14

    Uh oh, typo alert!!!

    Go download some more music, thief boy.

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-24 13:41:21

    hmm, two things: pretty sure i wasn't bickering about nothing, and not too sure that you had replied with a sentence ya fookin cunt

    Posted by Crookedsuperhero on 2005-11-24 13:33:46

    Well maybe you bicker about NOTHING some more.

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-24 13:10:42

    leave it to crooked to repeat jokes completely after the fact!!

    damn horse i know you are dead but i will beat you anyway

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 11:36 AM (EST)

    p.s. (i'm the guy below hence the p.s.) can someone send me this

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 11:35 AM (EST)

    uh, i just wanted to say, the artwork for this cd is pretty sweet. one of the better this year.

    plus i got a little tera melos poster from springman tha is pretty fuckin cool and a candy

    Posted by Crookedsuperhero on 2005-11-24 09:58:53

    Hey, can someone send me this?

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 24, 2005 at 3:18 AM (EST)

    You two should come backyard wrestle at my house. I'll supply the ring, the chairs, the light bulbs and the cheese grater.

    -Will

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-24 00:38:18

    man oh man

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-11-24 00:33:22

    You're so right dude, I still have no friends. Nobody could possibly have time for writing reviews, posting on this website, AND have friends. That's ridiculous!

    You're really one to talk about sounding like a little girl. "lol" "riiiiiiight" "loooooooser" I'm pretty sure you sound like the girlfriend I had in 10th grade. Oh wait, I already know what you're going to say, "you never had a girlfriend, you can't even make friends" or something equally asanine. Just keep typing "lol", because nothing says manliness like that.

    And I didn't know you saw them twice, you told me that. I didn't know you saw them at all, you told me that just now as well. Is it such a leap that somebody who really enjoys a band would see them live? You could make the same joke about me. "Ready for the Hot Cross show!" See how easy that is? I wrote a review for a band I enjoy, so it would be sensical to assume I'd want to see that band live. That's how this thing called "logic" works.

    Keep replying buddy, I've got allllllllllll fucking night. Because I've got no friends, remember? LOL!

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-24 00:14:27

    ohhh don't fucking preach to me you dumb fucking asshole

    you seriously try so hard to be fucking cool and one up on me, but you just sound like a moron...i'm in it for the free shit, when i asked to hear an album? riiiiiight

    seriously, you've got nothing better to do than pick fights? give me a goddamn break you fucking fool

    apparently you have not gotten any friends since we last spoke, or else you would not be posting like a whiny little girl

    p.s. it's obvious you have my screen name, or else you wouldn't have known that i had just recently seen 311 twice, which by the way i am 100% unashamed of admitting because fuck, they're one of my favorite bands! yeah, like you're gonna make a reference to me seeing a 311 show because i reviewed an album of theirs two years ago? riiiiight. what a dumb shit!

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-11-23 23:57:21

    I don't know what the fuck your screen name is, and I don't care to. If you're referring to the 311 jab, you wrote a review for them, you dumb asshole, so it was a pretty easy connection to make.

    And I second everything Will said. Besides that, you're a fucking staff member. Bands look at this site, labels look at this site, PR people look at this site, and what do they see, a Punknews staff member begging for kids to send him an album over AIM, rather than him buying it. That reflects real well on the rest of us, who despite the fact that we review and get a lot of things free, still care about underground artists and purchase what they put their blood and sweat into.

    I take this seriously, and it's pretty obvious that you don't give a fuck. You're in it to get some free albums and push your convuluted opinions on people. Pathetic.

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-23 23:22:07

    anchors why do you love me so much as to obsessively look at my aim profile, don't you think that's kinda weird?

    loooooooooooooooooooooooser

    also the 311 jab was pretty awesome, i gotta say...alas, the king of comebacks is HERE!!

    Posted by Infrarecon on 2005-11-23 22:06:54

    I wasn't angry or any thing I just thought it was funny actually, and yea who knows mabye i missed something, this was just my opinion.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 at 10:00 PM (EST)

    A band has every right to say you didn't get it... Chances are they made music with a purpose, therefor there was something to understand.

    You could argue that you didn't care about "getting it," though.

    And yeah, fuck all of you people who download underground albums by bands that are still around... You are only hurting the good guys and cheating yourselves out of the good feeling you get from not supporting Rupert Murdoch... Also, even CD art is better than no art.

    -Will

    Posted by Infrarecon on 2005-11-23 21:45:00

    Ha, I apparently don't 'understand' melody 8 -www.teramelosmusic.com

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-11-23 21:14:57

    Yeah, fuck supporting bands. Right on dude! Ready for the 311 concert!

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-23 18:53:07

    also, probably because i just don't want to, so suck onnnnnn that

    Posted by theundergroundscene on 2005-11-23 18:51:39

    lol peanut gallery

    Posted by Anchors on 2005-11-23 15:10:18

    How about you buy a damn album, rather than begging for everyone to send you something?

    Posted by ElectricP on 2005-11-22 22:03:25

    i agree, this band is awesome

    - ElectricPedophelia

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 7:51 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    ROCK!!!

    Posted by Dante3000 on 2005-11-22 15:15:37

    Still bummed I missed their show here in the South Bay...Blah.
    -Dante

    Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-11-22 14:33:30
    My Score:

    This band is awesome.

    - jones the bones

    - stevejones8770@yahoo.com

    - too short? its what? a good 40 minutes before the last track breaks of into ambient whatever? thats a decent length

    Posted by JohnTravoltron on 2005-11-22 11:31:35
    My Score:

    Excellent CD. Too short of an album... that's about it.

    Oh yeah, they DO have an awesome website.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 1:32 AM (EST)

    This band is awesome and have the best website ever

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 1:05 AM (EST)

    This band is awesome.

    -Will

    Posted by formerly-blade-runner on 2005-11-22 00:29:02

    that album covers kinda cool