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InMe

The Destinations EP

Written by: TL on 06/08/2014 17:30:57

It's a difficult thing to not admire the consistent creativity of InMe frontman Dave McPherson, who seems to continually spew out material either with his main band, with its prog/djent extension Centiment or acoustically under his own name. It takes a bit of a fan however - or a reviewer with some twisted sense of obligation at least - to keep up with the numerous releases, the latest of which is "The Destinations EP", which came out this year with four tracks to carry fans over while waiting for the triple album the band is planning to release in 2015.

Fans new to InMe will be thrown right into their soundscape with opener "Pelorus Jack", which begins the EP at a high point. InMe have persistently established itself as the proggier and more technical cousin to your garden variety harder British alternative rock band, and that line is maintained here with a song that wastes no time and sports both a catchy chorus and a devilishly tasty guitar build-up for a bridge. It's the best the EP has to offer, alongside "Driftwood Figurines", which impresses with a great, three-sided juxtaposition of interweaved melodic curves from the vocals and lead guitar while the bass makes odd but well-timed incisions that keeps you on your toes.

I do feel however, that the chorus to "Driftwood Figurines" feels a bit ordinary next to the inventive spirit of its verse, and it showcases McPherson's tendency as a singer to get a bit playful with his vocal effects - moving from hoarse to high strung in an odd moment during the chorus - which is dynamic but not necessarily in service to the feeling of the song. Similar inconsistency characterises "Anthemusa", which feels a bit stale in its eerie verse, yet is somewhat salvaged by a shift in tempo with the arrival of a catchy chorus melody. The closing track "Beached Whales" conjures up a convincing nautical atmosphere - the acoustic lead reminding me of beach- or underwater stages in various old Game Boy games - but across six minutes of length the rollicking rhythm at its bottom starts feeling like some dynamic wouldn't have hurt and the attempt at majestic guitar heroism during the middle one and a half minute doesn't quite make up for it as intended, at least not if you ask me.

Taking a view from the top though, this is classic InMe as you've come to expect from them. It's dramatic rock with often unexpected tonality, and as usual the lead is taken by the guitar-playing McPherson brother (Dave's sibling Greg mans the bass here, ), who continues to demonstrate that his singing ability is better technically than the natural reach of his voice, which will never be the fullest you'll hear. The refinements from previous InMe records to this one require more refined ears than mine to fully appreciate, but it's clear as day that the arrangements here are expertly penned. If I were to point out a drawback though, it would be that the vocal melodies often sound like they were written on top of the instruments, where one could at least sometimes wish for an approach where vocals instead traded blows with the instruments, for instance in more call/response-like setups. In terms of grading though, this is a simple matter: With two near great songs and two average songs, you see where I'm going with this.

Download: Pelorus Jack, Driftwood Figurines
For The Fans Of: Coheed & Cambria, Fightstar, Midgar, Fei Comodo
Listen: facebook.com/inmeofficial

Release date 26.05.2014
Self-released