Music Review: MINK

MINK's self-titled debut album is one of the best new sounds I've heard in a while. I was a little dubious about them when I first listened to them, but the more I listened the more I liked them. No, scratch that. The more I listened, the more I loved them.

More than once I thought it would be great to let the rest of my band listen to the album so we could jam to their songs. MINK is so full of energy that they just make me want to be a part of it. Our drummer constantly complains that a lot of the songs we play are boring, but I'm absolutely certain once he listens to MINK, he will be a huge fan too, especially since MINK's drummer, Stella Mozgawa, is a force to be reckon with. I have the utmost respect for her power and creativity, and her talent has definitely brought a very unique sound to the band.

I'm actually the vocalist in my band, and I tend to focus more on voice and melodies rather than bass and drums, but both the drums by Stella Mozgawa and bass by Grant Fitzpatrick have caught my attention in this album. Their sounds are very tightly knit, and bring a lot of depth to their music. That's not to say I don't like their vocals and melodies though. Lead singer, Neal Carlson, is my new idol. I don't know what it is about his voice I like, perhaps it is because it is so changeable and smooth and raspy all at once. Or perhaps because you can feel his complete engagement in the music. He has a certain 'Suede-ish' sound to his voice that I find irresistible.

While the bass and drums caught my attention in the faster songs on MINK, the guitar sounds stand out more to me in the slower (which aren't exactly all that slow) songs like "Will Not Let You Down", "Sweeter", "Crazy World", "Dematerialize" and the bonus track "Look Into Each Other". Incidentally, these are also my favorite songs on the album. Perhaps, with the exception of "Dematerialize", all these songs appeal to my romantic nature and I can't help but be partial to them. I especially love the guitar sounds in "Dematerialize" though. Lead guitarist, Nick Maybury, and rhythm guitarist, David Lowy are no slouches.

I don't usually make predictions and it might be presumptuous for me to say this, but I'm certain that MINK will be the next big thing in music, to the proportions of Guns N' Roses, Queen, and the like. Every radio station will play their music, everyone will know them, and every musician will study them. Or maybe I'm just bias, but you know, MINK is good enough that they just might prove me right.