[rating=7.00]
For diehards of psychedelic rock, those who have clung to the threads of the genre weaving their wave through the decades, the formation of MIEN is a perfect storm. Alex Maas of The Black Angels, Tom Furse of The Horrors, Rishi Dhir of Elephant Stone and John-Mark Lapham of The Earlies joining forces in a psych-collaboration tapestry of influences and exploration. By all accounts the coming together of this supergroup, if you will, has been on a collision course for the better part of a decade. Various chance festival encounters and impromptu discussions gradually morphing into the shape of the idea of a solid collaboration. MIEN and the meandering agitation and drifting pulse of this, their self-titled debut, is the result.
The danger of celebrated unions such as these is the way in which a range of established artists who all shoulder previous success and bring it with them can result in the lack of a singular focus. There are certainly times when MIEN feels like an extended jam session, the myriad ideas that stem from the sonic lands each musician calls home – as excellent as they are – ultimately falling short of a cohesive narrative one can grasp hold of. The drone and clash of ‘You Dreamt’ and scattered concepts of ‘Ropes’ prime victims of this over-saturation of ideas. But perhaps a better way to view an album such as this, and one which far better explains the inescapable reward MIEN provides, is the flip-side of this. The way in which these four musicians, unburdened by the expectations and limitations of their own bands, are able to push themselves and each other into explorations of sound they perhaps may never have tried.
Jam session it may be, but when the threads that tie the sounds and ideas they bring with them are snipped one by one is when MIEN becomes a truly liberating listen. Amid the dark haze, it’s strangely delightful to unpick the elements that each member has unpacked and contributed. The story is that all were brought together by a shared love of The Association’s ‘Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin” and its quirky sitar styling, and so it’s perhaps not surprising that Rishi Dhir’s eastern influences that distinguish his work with Elephant Stone dominate the likes of ‘Earth Moon’ and ‘Black Habit’. The haunting droning dreamscape of ‘Other’ draws on some of The Horrors’ more moody stuff while the garage shoegaze of The Earlies and Black Angels is present throughout, notably on the likes of ‘Echolalia’ and ‘(I’m Tired of) Western Shouting’.
It all comes together in the final track, ‘Earth Moon – Reprise’ – a sprawling weave of building vocals, gentle atmospherics and the looming spectre of an unknown menace. It’s beautiful and chaotic, and best encapsulates the gathering of MIEN. The record manages to surprise, even as it sounds make complete sense. It manages to defy expectations, even as it reinforces that no one likely knew what to expect in the first place. It envelops and churns – the four members throwing what they know into the mix and then managing to reign it into the ten tracks you find here. It might not carry the weight a more cohesive project may a have, but the buoyancy of its freedom makes it hypnotic in a different – and no less impressive – way.
