Band Review: Mutineers

Mutineers is another band that I discovered when they followed me on Twitter. Formed by four drinking mates from Manchester, their Facebook page describes them as melancholic indie pop, which I initially read as melodic indie pop.

I was thinking about the melodic part, because there is a different quality to their guitars. I was wondering if “jangle” would be the right term, and some of that definition seems to be guitar driven melodies, and having a bit higher sound, which may derive from the using the upper register strings, or from using 12-string guitars.

I don’t know what they are doing equipment-wise, but yes, melodic, and probably a higher register. Actually, one of their related groups is Echo and the Bunnymen, and that seems pretty apt. Think of the accompaniment on “Lips Like Sugar”. (Listen to “The Auctioneer” or “Stick Together” for a good example of this.)

Or you could just start listening to the Mutineers on your own. Their album Friends, Lovers, Rivals is available on Spotify, so you can preview it, and then purchasing can be done via Amazon or iTunes.

Will you find them to be melancholic? Some of the other bands that they remind me of a little are The Smiths and The Cure, so perhaps there is some tendency towards depression there. That feeling is most prominent on “Landlord’s Daughter”. Otherwise, the tempos are often upbeat, and while many of the songs contain serious subject matter, there is an intelligence present that often turns to wit, and it keeps them from being dreary. They very kindly make all lyrics available here:

http://mutineers.tumblr.com/

Okay, they are fairly heavy, but don’t little phrases like “I’m naive to your alchemy” and “cat-suit kamikaze” pique your interest in a way that distracts you from being depressed?

One of the most interesting lyrics for me is from “Hyde Road”:

She said “you can’t see me without my make-up on”
I thought you’ve never looked better

First of all, it’s completely realistic, and it can just be a bit of dialogue from a common frustration. It also works on so many levels. Not only does it represent a desire for greater intimacy thwarted by superficiality, but it carries the message that the superficial is not needed, and whatever it is being used to compensate for, stop it, it’s a waste.

I may be reading more into “Alone In Our Ideas” than there is, because there is a phrase “just kids” that reminds me of the Patti Smith autobiography, which puts some emotions there, but even with the song’s own title – alone in our ideas – how evocative of a phrase is that?

My favorite not mentioned may be “You Used to be Okay”, but the other point I should probably make is that I keep liking the album better as I listen to it more, so I recommend listening more than once. Three times is probably about right. See if they don’t get under your skin.

https://www.facebook.com/mutineersofficial

http://mutineersofficial.tumblr.com/