Forget that cars exist. Or don't. Wipe your face with raw meat. Heave rocks at machines and fascists alike. Vomit into cafeterias packed with young jetsetters. Call ZZ Packer and ask for his/her autograph. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Somewhere along the line, the absurd will become mundane. Soon it will seem ridiculous that you ever took showers, went to a job or called your significant other. This, friends, is the world of Cinemechanica. It is a world where men and women forget the time signatures of the past and enter a world where the combination of brooding dark (not to mention big and loud) guitar work can intersperse freely with eccentric riffs meant to stimulate the rock geek in every one of us. Accessible, yet only subtly over intelligent, the simultaneous guitars attack the listener with coordinated rhythms and separately incorporated structures. The vocals sway between Mock Orange-like scales and all out screaming remind the listener that influences are meant to enhance not carbon copy.
This is one of the most impressive things about The Martial Arts. With influences like Braid, North of America, and Fugazi ranging to a multitude of classic rock references, the avid music geek has many reference points, but no perfect grasp on Cinemechanica's desired intent. Is the intent political? Is the intent to crash the slow-rock world and reintroduce the non-dance technical band into the lives of the indie-rocker? Is it to restore Sunday beer buying to Georgia? Is there an agenda at all?
The answer is yes, friends. The agenda is to create a sonic masterpiece as good as it strengths and as free as its flaws. They have certainly done that. Though at times the ear wishes to rest, Cinemechanica has no mercy. Technicalities be damned, they just want to destroy and rebuild what was a once proud, head bobbing, smiling, and fist-pumping nation of rockers. Whether or not they succeed no longer relies on them, it relies on the savvy of the rock music fan—the once lover of anthems by way of technical prowess—to guide the rest of the nation forward into glory. |