Melodine
Out of Your Hands
Atenzia
Evan Frankfort has something of a Midas touch when it comes to his production work with up and coming bands around the LA area, and he’s brought that same mark of quality to his own band Melodine.
Quite simply, Out of Your Hands is one of the best – if not the best – modern rock albums of 2003. The band’s previous self-released album, Appreciation, was superb, but this follow up is even better.
Opener “Exit Wounds” typifies exactly what Melodine is all about – an intensely contemporary and cool vibe married to an interesting sonic landscape, with plenty of melody, is what separates this band from a lot of nu-breed bands out there.
Although that trademark Melodine sound is evident on each of the album’s 14 tracks, the diversity of songs is astonishing. The up-tempo “Heaven’s Coming To California” has shades of The Cars to it. The cleverly written and arranged “The Le Tingo” has a distinctly Latin feel. The dark and brooding closing track “Chew Your Life” wouldn’t sound out of place on a Radiohead record.
Other standouts include “Slow Dive,” which was originally written for Santana, the unexpectedly aggressive yet melodic “Rope” and the quirky “She’s Only Human.”
Five tracks have been re-worked from the original versions heard on Appreciation, but such is Frankfort’s studio wizardry that each song has had new life breathed into it. The high-profile assistance of Wallflowers Greg Richling and Rami Jaffee enriches the scathing “Nothing New,” while “Petered Out” sounds even more powerful than ever: “I gave you someone you could trust/You gave me bad vibes and disgust”.
With each release, Atenzia raises the bar for modern rock bands, and with an inventive, diverse blend of melodic modern rock, Out of Your Hands is the label’s best release yet.
Atenzia Records: http://www.atenzia.com/ • Melodine: http://www.melodine.net/
