Sacramento trio Tera Melos traffic in genres that are often viewed as the opposite of punk, i.e., prog, math-rock, *post-*hardcore. But when done properly, these styles generate all of the enthusiasm of punk while turning its traditional logic about formal training on its head: What if your love of music inspires you to train to the point where you can accomplish anything you want? That’s what Tera Melos get at on their fourth album, X’ed Out, a super-collider of genres, riffs and mad rhythms that is often thrilling, occasionally exhausting, and, unlike most chops-based music, never dull.
It wasn’t always this way. Their previous work was often chops for chops'-sake, impressive on a theoretical level, manifesting in songs as spazzed-out and inscrutable as their titles-- “Guy vs D.C. Sniper,” “A Spoonful Of Slurry (is Good for What Ails You),” to name a few. While their instrumental capacities are still plenty baffling, Tera Melos appear to be relishing the opportunity to encounter new difficulties; whereas jamming a 7/4 riff against a 12/8 backbeat is a puzzle that can be solved with enough effort, the stuff X'ed Out goes for is sparked by the metaphysical-- ingenuity and serendipity.
Fortunately, Tera Melos sound exhilarated by the potential of not having an idea of where these songs might end up. X’ed Out begins on a monotone, palm-muted riff that could’ve found itself on a Phoenix or Strokes record; in fact, when Nick Reinhart’s vaporous falsetto first enters, it sounds a great deal like “Tap Out” from Comedown Machine. A couple of clean guitar runs nestle their way into the mix, and all of a sudden, it’s more in the style of looping enthusiasts like Dustin Wong. And then... a circle-pit ready chorus in Sufjan Stevens’ favorite time signature?
The name of that song is “Weird Circles”, which becomes a prophetic statement. X’ed Out is full of loops that don’t quite close, song structures that aren’t verses and choruses so much as geometric patterns jutting against each other at strange angles, genres ricocheting in a game of pinball. Siphon out the hooks of “Weird Circles”, “Sunburn”, and “Tropic Lame”, and you have the basis for 2013’s most excellent skate punk EP. Isolate the beatless and beatific drift of “Snake Lake” and “No Phase”, and Tera Melos make a case for themselves as a covert dream pop act. Come across “New Chlorine” or “Until Lufthansa” in the wild and Tera Melos is a fine reminder of a time when Jawbox and Jawbreaker were getting major-label deals.
Which is to say that while X’ed Out is Tera Melos’ most accessible work by a large margin, it’s still all relative. There are hooks all over the place and just as many ways to deliver them-- guitars that sound more like steel drums, phonetic cooing, ridiculous drum fills. But Tera Melos aren’t pop craftsmen working in ornate arrangements; they’re playing with such frantic speed and precision, it’s more like they’re trying to defuse live bombs. This makes Tera Melos a cozy fit on Sargent House, a label which has cornered the market on carnival rock with the likes of Fang Island, And So I Watch You From Afar and Bosnian Rainbows. It’s not divisive so much as deep niche-- this stuff isn’t for everyone, largely because the accompanying up-with-people delivery that can be somewhat grating. But X’ed Out offers the same thrill rides without the sugary stodge. Granted, Reinhart’s vocals are so airy that they often sound indecipherable in isolation, to say nothing of when they’re placed amidst Tera Melos’ whirligig arrangements. That said, there’s substance and protein here-- the music is always given muscle to counteract the finger-tapping treble and you can suss out lyrics about punk rock bills, street names, and other clues to the emotional and physical geography of X’ed Out.
They're still subject to incomprehensibility; besides being the longest track on X’ed Out, “Slimed” relies too much on overeager skronk to fill the time, as if to give listeners an idea of what they previously missed out on. On the opposite end, while “X’ed Out and Tired” is sensible as a closing sigh of relief, as a straight-up acoustic strummer, it doesn’t make much of a case for Tera Melos to unplug just yet. Those both come later on, when the listener is likely to be more exhausted than the people actually playing the music. While it’s exciting to hear a veteran band sharply change course on the fly, Tera Melos doesn’t always have a grasp on the mundane things like pacing or sequencing that make for a smoother LP experience. Still, even if it’s a fourth album delivered with the enthusiasm and conviction of a debut, Tera Melos sound too damn geeked about where they are now to let X’ed Out be a definitive document.
