Steve Metcalf ‘BassCausality’ – YouTube spotlight

**It is recommended that you hit play on the video below while you read this article**

Now I know YouTube is flooded with videos of people filming themselves covering songs. I also know that most of them are pretty mediocre at best.  That is why it’s refreshing when I find someone who knows what they’re doing.  Now he hasn’t scored any car commercials like fellow YouTube artists Pomplamoose Music, but what the artist BassCausality (Steve Metcalf) brings to the table is a more classical take on a selection of songs that are a little less mainstream. I’m not saying that for the street cred I’m just saying that I haven’t seen too many kickass covers of Death From Above 1979’s Black History Month.  I can’t stop listening to this dude!

So one main thing about me is I’m a band geek. In high school I lived in the band room for more hours a week than I’m willing to admit.  Between that and being an upright player myself, I needed to first explain my bias.  Due to not that great of a music program I was the only string player, usually forced to just play Tuba parts.  So when I hear an arrangement that truly shows the range of an upright I’m generally pretty amped.  Metcalf seems to arrange with a firm classical background an apparent proficiency in arranging.  Many of his covers are comprised of himself layering bass tracks over them.  Demonstrating how versatile the instrument is, he even uses it for many percussion tracks.  I was extremely impressed with his great technique until I watched his other solo videos… and then I realized he’s a master of the bass shred.  Studying under Lawrence Hurst, he is a performance major at Indiana University.

Aside from the music itself, his videos are produced well!  Most of his videos are shot artistically enough to add more dynamic to the experience.  The recordings themselves are great.  The mix sounds very balanced and the strings sound vibrant and natural.   Even on the few songs with drums, they have a well-recorded sound and are never overbearing on the arrangement.  I do not know what sort of help he has with these productions or if it’s all Metcalf, but it seems like a primarily solo venture.

Aside from his covers, Steve has a few original pieces and arrangements.  Overall they are pretty good and show potential for a great future in classical or pop orchestration. (His song “Those Eyes” at times gave me a Grizzly Bear feel.)  I think that overall, between his covers and his originals, this kid loves Radiohead and you can here it in his work…which is definitely fine by me.

His YouTube channel

In Medias Res – PMtoday (Rise Records finally releases a masterpiece)

Ok, so I’m totally teasing, but it isn’t a secret that Rise’s roster is not exactly eclectic. Here and there, however, one of their bands releases a great album (shout out to Dance Gavin Dance); and PMtoday’s In Medias Res is clearly one of these exceptions. This is the perfect debut album. 

Now with a sound familiar yet extremely unique, PMtoday arrived on the scene around 2005 as a small local band in Arkansas.  Formed by brothers Conner (lead vocals, guitar) and Ryan Brogan (vocals, drums)  they started playing covers together in high school.  After a few small Eps, the band released their first full length, …And Then the Hurricane, in 2007.  This was a fantastic album very nostalgic of old Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, but seemed to hint at a lot of original creativity amongst the band. After some help from the band Emarosa and touring, PMtoday was signed to Rise Records in May of 2009.  They then prepared and recorded their label debut In Medias Res.

In Medias Res – “The literary device of beginning a narrative, such as an epic poem, at a crucial point in the middle of a series of events. The intent is to create an immediate interest from which the author can then move backward in time to narrate the story.”

Ok, now I’ve thought up epic album/band names before and know that if it sounds cool you don’t always have to make a connection from it to the music to want to use it. (In fact if you go Here anything you get can probably be a post-hardcore album title) But I feel there had to be a lot more that went into this title.  It fits the album on too many levels.  Whether it relates to starting point of the album vs. its story or if it relates to where the songwriter himself is at this point I’m not sure. Regardless, what we have here are ten tracks of technical proficiency, lyrics that force the listener into their own self-evaluation, and solid, heavy grooves.

 I will admit that upon first listen I remember preparing myself for another indie carbon-copy, with its opening song starting with one frail solo voice singing. (and by this I mean that when it started I whispered to myself, “I didn’t know The Early November got back together.”) 

I have never been more wrong about an album.

The second song put me in my place by the melodic progressive guitar work of “People are machines.”  I was impressed by how seamlessly they meshed genres.  (Not to mention the perfect modulation into the bridge. So simple, but not done enough in alternative bands today.)  From there I was hooked and the album didn’t let me go until it was over.

Brilliantly thought-out lyrics are brought in through Connor’s higher register vocals, which are great, but it’s the harmonies that are truly captivating. Every member of the group sings which allows for perfect four part harmonies. (Which are pulled off great if not perfect live.)  Constantly revisiting themes about people being machines and even manipulation, the lyrics are very intimate.

           

Produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Kris Crummett: this album is sonically phenomenal.  Having a good relationship with Rise, Kris has been responsible for other great sounding albums like Lower Definition’s The Greatest of All Lost Arts.  Every instrument is in its own space and the mix holds great dynamics overall.  I find that a lot of mixes now are cluttered and squashed. (compressed) This album was a breath of fresh air; with great sounding drums and lacks the scooped guitars that everyone is so familiar with. (-__-)

The magic of PMtoday, to me personally, is how they get from one point to another.  They have a lot of very straightforward parts but have already shown signs of perfectly knowing the balance of shred and simple.  They’ll make you jam out for a few minutes, but it’s ok because you’ll be able to rest soon after.  Easy on the ears, yet punchy. A perfect debut.   What’s the best part? In an interview recently Ryan and Connor said how they are focusing a lot more on their own growth as musicians before their next album. “We don’t want to be the same musicians on the next album.”  This means that they actually care about progression, and not the stale sound a lot of bands come out with. (I’m sorry Emmure. You’re albums have great tones/mixes, but I’m sick of 40Hz bass drops every 8 measures.  If you guys wanted to re-record an album, why couldn’t it have been Goodbye to Gallows?)

In conclusion, watch out for this band. Buy(download) this album; you need to hear it. It has something for literally everybody.  This band deserves to be huge, if their progression shows nothing else.

PMtoday Myspace 

PMtoday Facebook


Buy the album here! For cheap!

Title: In Medias Res

Artist: PMtoday

Label: Rise Records

Members:

            Connor Brogan – lead vox, guitar

            Cuinn Brogan – vox, guitar

            Jerrod Morgan – bass

            Ryan Brogan - drums

Produce/Engineered/Mixed/Mastered:  Kris Crummett

References:

Absolutepunk Review

Connor and Ryan Brogan Interview