Minmae's 2007 effort -- actually recorded in 2006 with an earlier lineup, with bandleader Sean Brooks as always being the linchpin -- differs most radically from those immediately previous to it in the album title, exchanging a long phrase for something more punchy. Otherwise
Minmae continue to explore the value in '90s indie rock and its antecedents, rejecting emo and the NPR-ized mainstream for something a little more ragged but right. That said,
835 does show more in the way of dramatic arrangements at times, starting with opening song "Pay More" -- the second longest effort at over eight minutes, it's a slow, steady build of a tune, Brooks' guitar overdubs producing a surging flow riding the rhythm section of Josh Kempa and Chris Calvert. Its counterpart is the even longer album closer, "Ride the Lightning" -- nothing to do with
Metallica beyond the title, but similarly epic in scope at least, piano and a steady but somehow nervous drum break helping anchor the song. Throughout
835 there's also an air of calmer, more downbeat feelings throughout the album, as can be heard in the reflective, radio-signal-tinged "Your Band Controls the Weather" and in the choice of acoustic over electric guitar for "He's Not My Man (He's Not My Jackal)" and (on the introduction at least) "Policy Blues." More upbeat songs of sorts aren't absent, though there's still an air of restraint throughout tunes like "Let My Friends In" (with harmonies straight out of
Crosby, Stills & Nash towards the end) and "Classification Blues"; even the more full-on brawl of "Next Round's on Me," with some amazing compressed guitar snarl from Brooks, still holds back thanks to his understated singing. ~ Ned Raggett