Maybeshewill - Critical Distance

It is always inspiring to hear of bands that even in the current climate of the music industry of today, ignore the usual templates set up and do everything themselves. Maybeshewill manage themselves, book their own tours, produce their own records and design their own merchandise and have been doing so since their formation in 2005, which has seen them steadily grow into a band that gain favourable reviews in the likes of Kerrang, which is no mean feat for an instrumental band.

During my instrumental binge phase, I distinctly remember hearing this bands first record and thinking that it was okay but there was something missing, and since then, I disappeared off the instrumental radar (rather than the band). The release of their latest single 'Critical Distance' from their forthcoming third album puts the band well and truly back onto my radar. The single oozes an electronic atmosphere that made early 65daysofstatic so popular, while mixing this with the grandiose beauty of an older and more refined Mogwai sound. Unlike most instrumental bands, Maybeshewill don't seem resigned to writing in the typical structure that involves slowly layering sounds up until you reach a climatic crescendo, instead they approach this single at least with their conventional mainstream heads on, creating a gloriously bright distorted guitar, piano and percussion interplay that is a breath of fresh air for the genre. The b-side to 'Critical Distance', 'I'm In Awe Amadeus' is also thoroughly refreshing, built on acoustic guitar interplays between strummed and jagged picked folk melodies while piano, xylophone and organ sounds soothe themselves in and out. 'I'm In Awe Amadeus' doesn't really go anywhere musically, but it doesn't seem to have to explode into a wall of distortion for me to fall in love with it and this is perhaps what makes it the surprise plus to this single (because I never thought I'd ever rate a b-side higher than an a-side).

All in all, fantastic stuff, if their new album is completely like this I can see no reason why the band can't continue their climb in the instrumental genre because they definitely have grabbed it by the balls, now let’s hope they can kick it until it coughs up blood and changes its ways.

4 / 5

Maybeshewill Official Myspace