The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Big Hurt  |  CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Jazz  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
Goth-header-1000x50

Maserati | Pyramid of the Sun

Temporary Residence (2010)
By REYAN ALI  |  November 9, 2010
2.5 2.5 Stars

111_maserati_main

Knowing what Maserati have been through during Pyramid of the Sun's creation makes it hard to consider the album on its musical merits alone. A year ago, they lost drummer Gerard Fuchs in an elevator-shaft accident. They were already working on Pyramid, and that gives the resulting LP a double shot of gravitas as one of Fuchs's final recordings and also a tribute to him. So it's a bummer that the record itself is largely uneventful. Its instrumental-heavy post-punk (Fuchs aptly cited disco as a key influence) focuses on cruising along grooves, and though never offputting, the material is more about competent musicianship than captivating movements or melodies. Maserati sometimes go for psychedelics but rarely consume your headspace whole, so tracks like "They'll No More Suffer from Thirst" and "Oaxaca" are docile and interchangeable. Some highlights are strewn about: the strange scrapes and quakes of "Ruins," the ominously swelling "Who Can Find the Beast?", and the poignant "Bye M'Friend, Goodbye," which makes for an excellent climax. But most of Pyramid lacks the spark a document of this importance deserves.

MASERATI + PSYCHIC PARAMOUNT | Middle East upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge | November 15 at 9 pm | 18+ | $12 doors | 617.864.3278 or mideastclub.com

Related: 5 for '10, Thieving Irons | This Midnight Hum, Fall Local Pop Preview: Changing scene, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, middle East Upstairs, maserati,  More more >
| More

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 11/09 ]   Mr. Moustache Man’s Stache Bash  @ Middlesex Lounge
[ 11/09 ]   Scratch Acid  @ Paradise Rock Club
[ 11/09 ]   Boston Ballet in "Romeo and Juliet"  @ Opera House
ARTICLES BY REYAN ALI
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   CRYSTAL ANTLERS SHARPEN THEIR PSYCH-PUNK FIREWORKS  |  November 03, 2011
    At this point in Crystal Antlers' young career, their most powerful song is still the turbulent, desperate "Andrew."
  •   MEMORY TAPES | PLAYER PIANO  |  August 03, 2011
    Tinny, lonely keyboards and aching romanticism lead the way for Player Piano's first two tracks, but a minute into "Today Is Our Life" it seems like the dude wants to create a song hopeful enough to end an '80s teen rom-com on a high note.
  •   FROM THE BEDROOM TO BEYOND WITH CRAFT SPELLS  |  July 28, 2011
    There's been an enormous wave of musicians gaining notoriety for creating work where they sleep, and subsequently seeing their star rise as blogs have picked up on the results.
  •   COM TRUISE | GALACTIC MELT  |  July 26, 2011
    The glassy, hallucinogenic, and goofy electronics straddle this indecisive middle ground between creating something soothing and something to get your blood pumping.
  •   CRYSTAL ANTLERS | TWO-WAY MIRROR  |  July 19, 2011
    Crystal Antlers' latest can be a pretty frustrating record — not because of what it is but because what it isn't.

 See all articles by: REYAN ALI

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed