( Washington Dc , USA /// Dischord Records )
The last time drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally were in a band together, they were the rhythmic architects for Fugazi, an
organization whose decade and a half of disciplined progressivism provided a necessary bridge between the zenith of late-punk expression
and everything alternative in rock that followed. In 2016, the two were enlisted by guitarist Anthony Pirog in a conspiracy to
subvert and reimagine the power trio, bringing fully into the 21st Century a form that may have reached near perfection with Hendrix’s
Band of Gypsys on the very first day of the 1970s.
With a self-titled recording scheduled for release in the Spring of 2018 on Dischord, the Messthetics will widen the reach of a decisive
instrumental music that so far, they have only shared with a privileged handful of east coast and southern audiences. Across its eight
original compositions and one cover, Anthony guides the sound through complex changes and harmonic densities that might compound,
but never confound or muddy its connection with the listener’s body. Recorded by Brendan in their practice space, the group’s
debut gives Anthony ample opportunities to swap guitar textures and styles as freely as an octopus changes patterns.
Brendan’s kit has a big heavy bell that he brought back from the Fugazi days. He maneuvers through this rhythmically shifty music
with a fluid briskness that is periodically disrupted by the clang of his bell. Joe spent 8 years in Italy, among other things, woodshedding
on eastern rhythms counted in 7 and 13, perfect preparation for the oddly-metered work of the Messthetics. He brings a rocksolid
foundation to the groove at the same time playing a harmonic complement as ambitious and interesting as Anthony’s lines.
Bands can be dangerous when their members have accrued enough mileage to see their chops season into something like musical wisdom.
When that understanding has the rare opportunity to percolate through a collaborative environment founded in love and anchored
in gratitude, well, then shit can get rather intense. Anthony Pirog writes difficult music because original music usually is. Yet the ideas
that he feeds through the Messthetics, are embraced by the Canty-Lally time machine, not just with precision and nuance, but with
soul, joy, and groove. These last three are, indeed, the big guns in this spiritual war that music must become in the post-Trump era.
Their performances and this debut recording have a lift and buoyancy that reflect back into the audience the love and gratitude at the
foundation of this trio’s journey.