Boston-based band, Motionyear, have just released their latest single, Disarray, and we here at the Send Me Your Ears studio have been taking several thoroughly enjoyable listens today.
Disarray is a metaphorical song describing a verbally abusive and controlling relationship through the lens of a plant that has been abandoned in a bedroom. The plant sits on the shelf, uncared for, and becomes covered with dust and lacking in water and nutrients. The plant eventually escapes the abusive relationship and finds life beneath the soil. What a fantastic metaphor for this type of relationship. Many songs cover abuse and neglect, but this is the first we’ve come across that has found such a unique and powerful metaphor.
The accompanying stop-motion video for this track shows the life cycle of the plant and it’s great to see the plant in full bloom at the end of the video, having escaped the abuse.
Disarray starts with a telephone-filtered sound with the drums fading in. As the song progresses into the full band sound it is powerful, heavy and rocky.
Dropping back for the first verse, the vocals join the mix and this feels very much like an emo rock/ skater rock style song but heavier. The layered vocals that join in the chorus and the stops add a superb touch, displaying just how tight this band are.
We love how the filters come and go, adding to the impact when the full sound returns. There are some great stereo guitars in the track which fill the sound and explode in your ears with excitement.
To us, the feel of the guitars reminded us of Coheed and Cambria, while the song’s overall feel is a much heavier version of Blink 182. This is some quality musicianship from some highly skilled musicians.
To our ears, a small boost right across the mids from 200Hz to 5kHz would thicken up the sound a little, giving the track a tiny bit more fullness. We felt that the vocals get slightly lost during the particularly heavy sections so maybe a boost in the top end would help make them clearer. As always, these are just some ideas from us.
If you love your California-style rock on the heavy side, then Motionyear are for you. Everything about this track screams originality and quality. Ones to watch!