Metavari
Be One of Us and Hear No Noise (2009)
Brian Shultz
Dntel kinda already warped minds doing this with Life Is Full of Possibilities, but Indiana's Metavari specialize in their own brand of indie-electronic that's gentle -- and somehow emotional -- enough to warrant a few rotations.
The trio's debut full-length, Be One of Us and Hear No Noise bristles with digital manipulations, skittering programmed beats and light percussion tinkering yet retains a warmth unusual for all the genial racketeering. Various sound bites make their way through some of the songs too ("Kings Die Like Other Men" and the next one -- "Shimmer Marina," "Pacific Lights," f.e.), mostly sounding like pretty old archival clips to create a fairly neat juxtaposition between more historical-based sounds and modern music technology.
I'm seeing the post-rock tag get thrown around with this band a lot, and it starts to make more sense during the album's midsection. Take a song like "The Priest, The Shore, and the Wait" and it's definitely warranted. This one's a little more organic than the others, with only traces of some electronic stuff, and while there's no stupendous climax, it's a nice, easygoing three-minute song that imagines older Death Cab covering This Will Destroy You, or maybe vice versa. That vibe definitely pervades the next track too, the album's title song which carries a bit more of a lift and arc to it. Closer "Pacific Lights" has a nice sparkle to it, as well.
Be One of Us and Hear No Noise has a few oddly same-y patches that make it sound like some sort of weird chronological discography rather than a well-rounded full-length. It's also a shade lengthy at 45 minutes, but overall, Metavari have crafted a fairly pleasing debut here.