When dance music comes to mind, punk rock and jazz generally isn’t the first to make the list of ideas. The UK band, Melt Yourself Down, does just that. Their full-length self-titled debut off the leaf label stands out among the recent releases of music. It’s hard to pin them down to one genre, but the group has the instrumentation of a funk band, but that’s only the beginning of their range of sounds.
Right from the beginning, the lead single “Fix My Life”, is a groove heavy blend of rock, jazz, funk, and even a bit of punk rock with a middle-eastern tinge thrown in. Surprisingly it’s not at all hard to handle with all these different sounds making their way into the single. It’s one of the catchiest songs off the album and only gets the ball rolling for the rest of the LP. The second track, “Release!”, is a more straight forward groove track with a Latin influence in it. It’s not as diverse as the first track, but nonetheless is still strong.
Tracks like “We Are Enough” and “Kingdom Of Kush” are the generally rock oriented songs off the album. “We Are Enough” is my personal favourite because of the energy involved in the music. Even though all the songs are extremely upbeat and energetic throughout Melt Yourself Down, this track is especially stronger in that category. The funky bass line has a definite punch to it that stands tall against the crisp saxophone riff. All parts to this song are memorable. Not to mention the electronic editing throughout showcases the ever growing changes the band can handle.
The band has some serious exotic influence on the album. Although the music is very “westernized” to get to the point, they stand out among jam bands because of their overall diversity. That’s not to say the music is perfect. At 8 tracks and 36 minutes, the music can feel like it’s dragging even though it’s a shorter album. Songs like “Mouth to Mouth” and “Tuna” don’t change their rhythm enough to keep things fresh. “Mouth to Mouth” has a strong African vibe going on, but it doesn’t exactly fit when the songs slows it’s pace down over top the saxophone rhythm. To me it’s forced.
Melt Yourself Down know their sound better than anyone making this sound. That partially has to do with their uniqueness and the fact that the band is in their own sound to begin with. They’re a quirky band with a strong start. Although the album does take a toll on the listener with it’s energy and non-stop tropical party sound, they have enough diversity to keep the sound new. From track to track though, the songs do begin to sound stale. It’s an album that’s perfect for summer, or even to spice up an outdoor party, but that’s where I see the album ending.
Check out two singles, “We Are Enough” and “Fix My Life”:
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