Posted on: July 4, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

“Walking Wine” is the first track on “Tres Tontos”, and it immediately kicks things into high grear. The music that Mikingmihrab starts their album out with is a blend of Fugazi, rockabilly, and early Alkaline Trio. The off-kilter sound of the band stands out as some of the most unique I’ve heard, and the density of this initial composition should provide enough of an impetus to continue listening to this LP. “Bloody Fingers” continues the high-octane opening of the album nicely, marrying together good-era Against Me (before 2006) with progressive seventies rock. While some of the compositions would seem at first blush to not work well together, the talent of the band is such that everything clicks.

Mikingmihrab makes their first foray into longer tracks with the nearly three-minute “February Lamb”. Where three minutes is still short for a great many bands, it represents a track that is nearly twice as long as the first two cuts from “Tres Tontos”. While the overall tempo of the track is slower than either “Walking Wine” or “Bloody Fingers”, the band is able to really take advantage of the longer runtime and really craft some expansive and intricate arrangements. “Bottle Jockey” is a track that will get a wide swath of fans listening to the disc, as there are just so many ways fans can interpret the tracks. The aforementioned seventies rock approach is present, but there is a definite eighties Dischord influence here as well. Finally, apt listeners can even hear a very early (1987-1988) Goo Goo Dolls sound at the periphery. “Long Gone” is yet another impressive track for Mikingmihrab, as the driving beat of the drums and guitars push the vocals into an entirely different realm.

With all elements hitting, “Tres Tontos” keeps a tremendous amount of energy and momentum even into the disc’s latest reaches. A perfect example of another strong song towards the end of the album comes in the band’s “New Town Square”. Bouncing back and forth between guitars, drums, and vocals, there is a timeless flair to the track makes the band’s angular output similarly fitting in the eighties, nineties, or today. Check out Mikingmihrab’s “Tres Tontos” for a title that never fails to impress, and see them live whenever they make it to a town near you.

Top Tracks: Walking Wine, February Lamb

Rating: 8.0/10

Mikingmihrab – Tres Tontos / 2010 Self / 9 Songs / http://www.mikingmihrab.com / http://www.myspace.com/mikingmihrab

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