Tuesday, April 24, 2012
New Music Mirror Mode unveils 'Monochrome' EP
Posted by Chad Radford @ChadRad on Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 1:27 PM
The group's principle players, Dan Wakefield and Allen Taylor have been pulling double duty over the last month, performing as the opening act with Mirror Mode before switching gear and playing as members of the Lotus Plaza live band, and the the time on the road has done them an awful lot of good. All four songs here (plus a very Euro-sounding Featureless Ghost remix of the title track) are cleaner and more concise than anything that appeared on the Veils EP back in November. The drone factor has been dialed down a good deal throughout the newer numbers, and the collaborative middle ground seems to have become less rigid. There are still clearly defined differences between the Wakefield numbers (“Monochrome,” “Vault Of Secrets”), which tumble along with a bolder sense immediacy, while Taylor’s songs (“Belated” and “Flash Count”) float along like clouds in the sky. But they’ve made strides together, drawing from mutual palettes of sound and musical substance, all the while tending to an even edgier round of dance rhythms.
By keeping the output to just four songs, it’s difficult to dwell on the flaws. But what gave Veils such a sense of mystery and allure was the balance of damaged new wave/electronic rhythms that cut there way through layers of aural fog. Here the fog has lifted substantially, and there’s a move toward melody over atmosphere, but the transformation is not yet complete. This juxtaposition of both style and evolutionary progress rings out most clearly in Monochrome's title cut, which spells out exactly where Mirror Mode are at this point — comfortable on their own legs, while refusing to rest on the victories they achieved, however modest they may be, with their first EP. These new songs provide a clear picture of the group’s still-burgeoning sound, while, like before, showing off some hints of where it's all going from here.
Mirror Mode plays the Earl tonight with Disappears and Lotus Plaza. $10. 8:30 p.m. 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950.
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