Sacramento math rock trio Tera Melos is a musical enigma from the depths of the West Coast music scene. Drawing upon everything from tinny 8-bit melodies to ripping Rush-style chord progressions, Tera Melos has truly touched on all the bases when it comes to writing music. The general trend throughout their five studio albums is a consistently more concrete sonic profile, which ultimately results in their newest release, Trash Generator.
Released on August 25, Trash Generator marks Tera Melos’ departure from their typical gooey sounding, dissonant identity which cemented their place in the math rock world. Their EP “Drugs To the Dear Youth” embeds a powerful sense of chaos and goofiness within Tera Melos, which is refined and molded with every new release. Their seminal album Patagonian Rats is when this unique identity began to change form; starting with the addition of vocals by guitarist Nick Reinhart and a decidedly poppier and more palatable feel to the song writing. Glossing over X’ed Out (not a bad album, just not really the focus of this review)released in 2013, we make our way to arguably Tera Melos’ most distilled and orchestrated release.
Upon first listen, this album was difficult to enjoy (which honestly hurts to write as a long time Tera Melos fan). It felt too shiny and new to sink my teeth into, and honestly felt like some sort of cold corporate hand swept over the band and ordered them to make a pop album. However, with each song, the layers are peeled back and the band’s true soul is revealed. Beneath Trash Generator’s reflective veneer is a jittery, loud, and constantly moving inner mechanism. The juicy parts are subtle, but when they shine through they also bring the realization that it was worth the wait.
While maintaining a wholly new and polished sound, Trash Generator also draws upon the nostalgic elements of emo and pop-punk music to give itself an oddly reminiscent feel. Squealing guitars matched with high, whiny vocals brings back the first time you heard the chorus for “Say It Ain’t So”; a moment from middle school when you realized music can make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up. This album is fun, charming, clearly a much loved work of music by a band that deeply cares about the content they produce. Without trading musical integrity for commercial success, Tera Melos was able to produce a cutting edge album that still holds on to their math rock past.
8/10
For fans of: Zach Hill, Adebisi Shank, By The End Of Tonight