Click HERE to check out the song SEARCHING FOR YOU
Limited Loser Edition on transparent cotton-candy swirl vinyl. If you're looking for a raw, sugary blast of distorted pop, look no further than Weird Nightmare. The debut album from METZ guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins contains all of his main band's bite with an unexpected, yet totally satisfying, sweetness. Imagine The Amps covering Big Star, or the gloriously hissy miniature epics of classic-era Guided by Voices combined with the bombast of Copper Blue- era Sugar-just tons of red-line distortion cut with the type of tunecraft that thrills the moment it hits your ears.
These ten songs showcase a new side of Edkins' already-established songwriting, but even though the bulk of Weird Nightmare was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic some of it's tunes date back to 2013 in demo form. "Hooks and melody have always been a big part of my writing, but they really became the main focus this time" he explains. "It was about doing what felt natural." To be clear: Weird Nightmare is not a "pandemic album," but an album-some of which had been gestating for quite a while-that just so happened to be recorded during the pandemic. "I had always planned on finishing these songs, but being unable to tour with METZ, and forced to lock down, really gave me a push." After days spent homeschooling his son, Edkins would drive to the METZ rehearsal room and tinker deep into the night on these songs' deceptively simple structures and rich, static-laden textures. "It was a godsend for me," he states about the creative process. "The hours would disappear and I would get lost in the music and record. It was a beautiful escape." Weird Nightmare is, in it's own way, a study in extremes: Edkins' melodic instincts and penchant for dissonance are both turned up to the max throughout, the latter reflecting not only the barn-burning tendencies of METZ, but Alex's own sonic predilections. "It doesn't sound right to my ears until it's pushed over the edge." He also cites other artists who are masterful at mixing the sublime and the punishing-Kim Deal and Scout Niblett among them-as influences on his own songwriting. "My favorite songs are the simple ones," he explains. "I've never been attracted to virtuosity or technicality. Certain songs have the power to lift your spirits like nothing else can. I wanted to create that type of song." A few guests pitch in on Weird Nightmare: Canadian alt-pop genius Chad VanGaalen adds his unmistakable touch to the ever-escalating "Oh No," while Alicia Bognanno of Bully lends her distinctive pipes to the thrashing "Wrecked," a collaboration that effectively saved the song. "I almost didn't put it on the album because I thought it was missing something," Edkins explains. "I sent it to Alicia and she lifted it way up." And taking risks and reaching out of Edkins' comfort zone was the name of the game when it came to making Weird Nightmare. "I found myself doing new things I didn't have the guts to do before, recording everything by myself and trusting all of my musical instincts," he states. "I think when music manifests quickly, a certain amount of honesty automatically comes along with it. When it is a purely instinctual creation, there is no opportunity to obscure the truth."
- 1 Searching for You
- 2 Nibs
- 3 Lusitania
- 4 Wrecked (Feat. Bully)
- 5 Sunday Driver
- 6 Darkroom
- 7 Dream
- 8 Zebra Dance
- 9 Oh No (Feat. Chad Vangaalen)
- 10 Holding Out
Alex Edkins’ primary band, Metz, has been gradually inching toward greater accessibility over the past decade. They never necessarily needed pop melodies, as the group’s muscular post-hardcore punch is effective enough a sound without the need for bells, whistles or any regard for subtlety. There’s a hell of a lot you can do with loud guitars and a bass tone engineered for demolition, and Metz have proven as much throughout their four full-length albums, plus various singles and outtakes.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the ability to write a catchy pop song isn’t one of the tools in Edkins’ arsenal, even if heavy bouts of noise rock aren’t always the avenue to put that to use. This is where Weird Nightmare comes in. Edkins’ janglier, confectionery new project outside of Metz, Weird Nightmare is more Hot Snakes than Drive Like Jehu, more Sugar than Hüsker Dü. On the 10 tracks that comprise the project’s self-titled Sub Pop debut, Edkins revels in magnetic hooks and brighter, sunny melodies, exploring explicitly an aspect of his songwriting that had previously been mostly implicit.
The brief pulse of a drum machine that kicks off opening track "Searching For You” is a fake-out, and what fills the space in its absence is more organic and alive. Garage rock by any other name, "Searching For You” is testament to the inability of loud, reckless rock ‘n’ roll music ever losing its appeal, but more importantly that, when done particularly well, can be immensely satisfying. From there, Edkins opts for a sludgier path with "Nibs,” takes a detour through shoegaze via Teenage Fanclub on "Lusitania,” duets with Bully’s Alicia Bognanno on the gloriously grungy standout "Wrecked,” and on "Sunday Driver,” soars via anthemic slow burn.
It’s not as if Edkins has shed his tendency toward playing loud, urgent rock music—that’s ultimately what Weird Nightmare is, after all. But there’s a brightness to these songs, a warm and summery extroverted charm that sates an itch that raw, full-throated pummel just can’t scratch (and, well, vice versa). These aren’t just pop songs, they’re really good pop songs, the kind of infectious gems that mixtape real estate is reserved for and which remind you of road trips and wasted summer days. I can’t imagine wearing this one out, but I look forward to trying.
(Jeff Terich, TrebleZine.com)
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