Band
Paul Roper - drums
Michael Logie - bass
Kody Nielson - vocals
Ruban Nielson - guitars
The Minties ( as they are lovingly refered to by fans) had an incredible year in 2003. They released their debut Ep
Octagon,Octagon,Octagon and scored a spot on the White Stripes tour of Australia/New Zealand. They have started to make big waves in NZ, and are soon to hit the international stage with their brand of sonic alt-punk. Think a more esoteric At the Drive - In mixed with Love Like...Electrocution listening to PiL.
Post No Bills
The perfect opener. This song allows you to hear the contrast that the Mint Chicks show in their music. They have jagged angular guitars and pouding dums mixed with somewhat-catchy melodies. The chorus of this song is one of the high points of this little Ep. The tone of Kody's voice is really what drives this song. The chant's of "Die, Die, Die" at the end of this song allude to something that the Minties are not - dark.
Octagon, Octagon, Octagon
One of the not so serious songs on this Ep is the title track. It's exhilirating, as is alot of the Mint Chucks music but it still provides hooks. Ruban's guitaring is the star of this song. Kody's voice and Paul's drums follow the guitar in a strangely synchronised way.
The Son
A very awkward song, it starts of rather quietly with sparse guitars, clockwork-like drums and quietly sung vocals. That soon changes with an explosion from all band members. The chorus is furious bass and drums following wirey guitars and screamed vocals. The quiet intro/verse comes back into play before another musical explosion. The end of this song see's Kody repeating "I am the Son that gets my way" and then joining his bandmates in making bearly understandable noise.
Licking Letters
The first single off the Ep starts with mechanical/noisey guitars and then gets into a pounding verse. Ruban provides backing yells while Kody sings odd lyrics. The chorus involves jaggedly struck guitars and sung vocals. the bass in this song is infectious, to me it is the driving point of the song as it follows its own course with everything else is on a different direction. I love the drum-guitar twosome just before the end of this song, very robotic.
fat Gut Strut
My favourite song on the Ep.
Fat Gut Strut is a very catchy stop/start affair. Kody sort of whines/croons in the verses. There is a very angry post-punk vibe to this song, which is my I like it. Kody let's out the most brutal screams of the Ep just before the closing of this song.
Double Helix
This song starts off with atmospheric electronic-like beats and then gets into very cool guitars. The drumming is rather intricate on this song, it's quite jazzy. This is the most experimental song on the album and has no vocals. There is a Liars-type-noise vibe to this song, which makes for interesting listening. The bass is very prominent again on this song.
All in all this is quite a good Ep. I like it alot, but believe their full length will be a much stronger affair. If you like original music that isn't afraid to be noisey or daring, then The Mint Chicks -
Octagon, Octagon, Octagon is for you.
Rating
4.2/5
