TERA MELOS

Sacramento avant-rockers Tera Melos will play Amoeba San Francisco April 14 at 2 p.m. Their latest record, X’ed Out (due April 16 on Sargent House), is a blast of tightly coiled riffs unraveling in all directions while sweet melodies keep the whole thing grounded in the eye of the storm. “Weird Circles” chugs along on math-rock riffery, while “New Chlorine” starts like some demonic cover of “Chopsticks” before unveiling a big, acidic rocker. “Bite” balances nasty, nauseous riffs with big, dreamy choruses, while “Sunburn” is the band’s clearest entry point, with non-stop riffs tapping underneath the band’s bright melodies. They chill out for ballads like “Snake Lake” and “No Phase,” as concerned with heavenly harmony as the guitar trickery beneath the surface, and they ease the tension with the sunshine pop of “Tropic Lame.” It’s been a while since we’ve heard a band as unabashedly guitar-centric as Tera Melos that can also write a decent pop song, recalling their Northern California brethren like Deerhoof and Hella, and while X’ed Out has its share of heady noodling, Tera Melos never sound self-indulgent. It’s a feast for guitar geeks and a reminder that indie rock need not be a laid-back, tepid affair. They make indie-prog that’s as fun to listen to as it is impressive, and that’s no easy feat.

I caught up with the band’s Nick Reinhart as Tera Melos prepared for a tour that begins with their Amoeba performance. They’ll be back in California in May, hitting L.A.’s The Echo May 23 and on May 25th in San Francisco at Bottom of the Hill. 

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Interview with Nick Reinhart : Play in new window | Download

In today’s episode I speak with the guitarist & singer of Tera Melos, an experimental band pushing the boundaries of what rock music can be, or is today, and what three guys in a room can accomplish beyond regurgitating their influences or resting on past laurels. In other words, it’s a pretty earnest and philosophical conversation about the role of the artist in society, their responsibilities to themselves and culture and the quest for originality.

We speak a bit about Nick’s visual art practice and, whether or not he should label himself an “artist.”  Personally, I think the visual work he has created for the band is as much a draw as the music itself.  More than simple “branding,” Reinhart’s works are deliberate borrowings from cultural touchstones whose long established characters are recast, either as avatars for the band members themselves (The Simpsons) or as innocuous mascots (Freddie Krueger).  This ability to co-opt established cultural icons in a meaningful way belies his conceptualist nature.  He may feel awkward labeling himself “artist,” but I have no such problem.

I hope you enjoy what Nick has to say. I know I did.

Tera Melos on the Interwebs:

Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

Over three albums and a couple lineup changes, Tera Melos, the Sacramento trio fronted by guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhert, has made a full shift from the unconventional song structures of ambient-indebted post rock to hyper-technical guitar pop. And while ambling 28-minute songs may be a thing of the past, his band’s new effort shows that they aren’t keen to let up on the chaos. X’ed Out picks up largely where the band’s 2010 LP Patagonian Rats left off, drenching Reinhert’s demure vocals in labyrinthine guitar work. But X’d Out goes even further than its predecessor, keeping the rapid-fire instrumentation but peeling back some of the instrumental layers to put the focus more firmly on the vocals. The buoyant riffing of tracks like “Sunburn” and “Surf Nazis” moves the band into the territory of fellow experimentalists-gone-pop-maximalists Marnie Stern and Maps & Atlases. That’s some good company to keep.

Pre-order X’ed Out on vinyl or cd here.

Don’t miss Tera Melos on their full US/Canadian headline Tour see all dates HERE

X’ed Out, Tera Melos’ eagerly anticipated follow-up to the genre-demolishing, Exclaim!-approved Patagonian Rats, is just around the corner. But while the Sacramento band have a big North American tour ahead of them in support of the new album, which is now streaming here on Exclaim.ca, the group apparently have the current state of the experimental music scene on their minds.

Speaking to Exclaim!, creatively restless guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart explains:

“I went off on a pretty good rant the other day on the plagiarism that seems to be happening in the ‘underground’ music world, which is really weird because you tend to associate that with pop music. Like, ‘of course this Lady Gaga song sounds exactly like this Madonna song.’ Obviously. Why’s that any surprise to anyone?

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We are happy to share another new track by Tera Melos take a listen to Bite from their forthcoming album “X’ed Out” available everywhere on April 16th, 2013 via Sargent House. In celebration of this new album the band will be doing a special Amoeba - San Francisco in store performance on April 14th before their headlining tour in the US and Canada with label mates TTNG along for all the shows. Get your tickets quick shows are selling out well in advance.

You can pre-order X’ed on Itunes now here or on CD or Vinyl at the Tera Melos store HERE.

All Show Details can be seen HERE

April 14, 2013 - San Francisco, CA @ AMOEBA - Free Instore 2pm

TERA MELOS & TTNG TOUR 2013
Apr 18, 2013 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Apr 19, 2013 - Seattle, WA  @ The Crocodile
Apr 20, 2013 - Vancouver, BC  @ The Media Club
Apr 23, 2013 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
Apr 24, 2013 - Minneapolis, MN  @ First Avenue 7th Street Entry
Apr 25, 2013 - Appleton, WI  @ Lawrence University (FREE)
Apr 26, 2013 - Chicago, IL  @ Subterranean
Apr 27, 2013 - Detroit, MI  @ Majestic Theater/The Magic Stick
Apr 28, 2013 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Apr 29, 2013 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
Apr 30, 2013 - Hamden, CT @ The Space
May 1, 2013 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
May 2, 2013 - Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory - SOLD OUT
May 3, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA  @ The Fire - (early show) SOLD OUT
May 3, 2013 - Philadelphia, PA  @ The Fire - (late show) SOLD OUT
May 4, 2013 - Washington, DC @ DC9 
May 5, 2013 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade
May 7, 2013 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
May 8, 2013 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
May 9, 2013 - Miami, FL @ Bardot
May 10, 2013 - Ybor City, FL  @ Crowbar
May 11, 2013 - Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
May 13, 2013 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
May 15, 2013 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
May 16, 2013 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
May 17, 2013 - Dallas, TX  @ Club Dada
May 18, 2013 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 
May 19, 2013 - San Antonio, TX  @ The Korova
May 20, 2013 - El Paso, TX  @ Low Brow
May 21, 2013 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Pub Rock
May 22, 2013 - San Diego, CA  @ The Casbah
May 23, 2013 - Los Angeles, CA  @ The Echo - (Less than 50 tix left)
May 24, 2013 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Constellation Room
May 25, 2013 - San Francisco, CA @ The Bottom of the Hill
May 26, 2013 - Fresno, CA @ Star Palace Ballroom

Tera Melos announce extensive North American tour dates with Sargent House label mates, Britain’s This Town Needs Guns (now simply called TTNG) beginning in April. Tera Melos will be supporting their forthcoming album, X’ed Out which comes out on April 16th, 2013.

All Show Details can be seen HERE

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Tera Melos, one of my all-time favorite bands, will soon be releasing their 3rd-ish full-length album, X’ed Out on April 16. Guitarist and vocalist Nick Reinhart took the time to answer some occasionally music-related questions.

AG: Say something new and interesting about Disco Stu.

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Experimental indie rockers Tera Melos just sent us their hooky new track “Sunburn,” and we’ve had it stuck in our heads for the past hour. These guys are from Northern Californa, which may explain their liberal meshing of genre and willingness to fool around. You can hear hints of mid-90s Chicago indie, Hella, and HEALTH all over “Sunburn.” Their new album X’ed Out will be available everywhere April 16th through the fine folks at Sargent House. Check the stream below and pre-order the record right here.

Don’t miss TERA MELOS on Tour see all dates here

(Source: Vice Magazine)

Tera Melos’ new album on colored Vinyl or CD now up for pre-order at the Tera Melos store - orders ship a few days before the official release on April 16th. Slipmat and Poster art by Garrett Van Der Leun - merch designs and album art by Nick Reinhart.

GET GET GET

Tera Melos bring the noise. Every show, every record, every track. They produce a sonic assault on the senses and Nathan’s grinding bass is the backbone to this tour-de-force. Tera Melos have a reputation of touring. They gig constantly all over the world taking their unique progressive sounds to more venues each year than most of us can even imagine possible. If you’ve seen them live then you’ll know that Nathan’s live bass tone is something of pure brutal genius.

In between this incredible number of shows, Nathan occasionally gets to play with his pedals and gear and I managed to catch him at just the right time to have him answer a few questions!

- Tera Melos perform ‘When Worms Learn To Fly’:

How long have you been playing bass & how did you get started?

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Three years after Tera Melos delivered the Exclaim!-approved Patagonian Rats, the Sacramento band have announced their next LP, X’ed Out. It drops via Sargent House on April 16.

While building on the promise of the genre-jumping Patagonian Rats, which we said fused complex arrangements akin to Hella and Battles with “psychedelic pop energy,” Tera Melos apparently attempted to tone down the wackiness this time around. But those plans reportedly fell through early on.

“I’d initially wanted to make a really simple and minimal record,” guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart said in a statement. “But our minds wander way too much, so when the songs came to life, they raged a little more than expected. In the process, it became clear that to move forward we needed to think less.”

Drummer John Clardy added: “We’re not trying to bludgeon people over their heads with technicality. It’s more deceptively simple.”

You can sample some new sounds for yourself via a preview of sugary, ’90s fuzz-pop confection “Tropic Lame,” which you can download over at Rolling Stone. You can check out the tracklisting, which seemingly tosses a nod to ’80s exploitation flick Surf Nazis Must Die, down below, and peep the minimalist, squiggly-lined album art up above made by the bands own Nick Reinhart. Below is a live video of Slimed which is also on the new album -  By Gregory Adams


X’ed Out:
1. Weird Circles

2. New Chlorine

3. Bite

4. Snake Lake

5. Sunburn

6. Melody Nine

7. No Phase

8. Tropic Lame

9. Slimed

10. Until Lufthansa

11. Surf Nazis

12. X’ed Out and Tired

Tera Melos; a band I first discovered at the age of sixteen (back when my young naive mind didn’t really know what to think about the chaotic symphonies that were gracing my ears) are now one of the most successful and influential experimental bands of our time. And although my introduction to this band came from a series of live performances on YouTube, my love affair with Tera Melos is strong today, and still ceases to quit.

But my true obsession and love for the Sacramento based band came from their devastatingly profound ‘Untitled’ album, a record that really sent shivers down the spines of musicians and music lovers alike. Upon first listen it is apparent that throughout the creative process there was a focus on ingenuity and originality to create a sound that could only be associated with this band.  Their sound combines atonal noodling with time signature abnormalities, the intensely fast yet melodic riffing of The Fall Of Troy and the insane drumming and orchestration of Hella, all whilst sounding like The Mars Volta’s hardcore punk brother.

‘Melody 1’, the opening track enters with a fuzz of electronica, a frantic programmed drum-beat and a simple calm, cool and collected guitar which almost lures you into a false sense of security that this album is going to be something you can sit back and relax to on a Sunday afternoon. ‘Melody 2’ soon rectifies this false vision, exploding into an astounding display of guitar trickery, drumming craftsmanship along with a distant inaudible vocal haze all coming together and creating, in my opinion, a true insight into what Tera Melos is about.

Continuing through the album Tera Melos keep pushing pleasing musical buttons that blend seamlessly with straight forward notations of musicianship, most notably heard in the repeated taps of ‘Melody 3’. Throughout this though, the band are constantly waiting with their feet on the pedal to accelerate through twists and turns of progressive rock and the angular, bendable boundaries of technicality; displayed perfectly through the brashness of ‘Melody 4’.

‘Melody 5’ like its predecessors opens with a fast paced melodic riff, reminiscent of the likes of the Dillinger Escape Plan, but not before swiftly venturing into the Mars Volta territory briefly. It’s at this point you can pick up on a jazz influence that reciprocates throughout the track. The aforementioned jazz sound is then thrown through the hardcore blender that then concludes with a three minute long synth solo that combines the electronica style drums from ‘Melody1’ with what can only be described as music that would feel at home on an N64.

The tail end of ‘Untitled’ neither veers off or meanders, but remains relentless in style, inventiveness and pace, delivering undeniable musical intelligence and foresight that can now only be perceived as true inventiveness. Making the album all the more important now that we are so lucky to be blessed with so many easy routes into music and experimental music, many of which would never have existed without Tera Melos.

All in all ‘Untitled’ is an outstanding album that showcases the foundations of the band, giving the listener in the present day a true insight into the beginning of the band and how they arrived upon the sound that we all know and love. So when you next get the chance try and find some of the old school live footage on YouTube, the shear technicality involved to preform these songs is mind blowing.

Words By Jack Dooley

Tera Melos live from Moscow.