ninaNirvana

Since I had the opportunity to interview MRI this past December at Palm Beach Sound Studios in Florida where they were mixing and mastering Where Parallel Lines Meet I thought it would be a good place to begin ... I first saw MRI when they opened for Godsmack at Coral Sky amphitheater in 2002. Their sound has evolved a lot since then.. What strikes me the most about MRI...is how every song sounds so different from each other and the listener never really knows what is going to come next. The following is from a tape recorded interview with Daren Thomas Turner[guitar,vox,piano,strings] and Alan Cruz[drums] on December 12th, 2008.*

*can't fit interview in post


I was very impressed with MRI's modesty and casual nature. Daren is a classically trained piano player; Dan and Alan played in Rush cover bands growing up and Alan can play any/all Neil Pert drum parts note-for-note. They are extremely impressive musicians. In the Spring I will post the entire interview but I simply wanted to use it as a springboard to introduce Where Parallel Lines Meet since as per Daren it truly is a masterpiece in that each song is extremely unique sounding. If we look at all the genres inside the album we find alternative rock, hard rock, pop, Ramones-style Power Punk, reggae-ska, classical, avant-guard, techno-experimental, even Middle Eastern-Arabian flavored songs. Let's look now at each song in detail, and in the sequencing order of the track list.

Helicopter Head: This is probably their most well known song. I love how the vocals are both haunting in the verses but caustic and biting in the chorus. Granted, anyone can hear a healthy does of Alice In Chains in the vocals, particularly the lush choral layering and unique larger-than-life harmonies, but if you really listen to the song, you will hear a heavy smattering of Andy Summers guitar meets The Edge U2 style echoplexing. Definitely one for radio as it has that "hit single" quality from the very first measure. I think most people are aware of this because of the artistic video too.

The Beautiful And Dangerous: Great live track with minimal production to capture the MRI live raw heavy rock sound. The guitars are ferocious and furious, the driving 7/8 beat is hammered out with a John Bohnam style hunger and Alan's fills and subtle change ups have that 'live' energy that seems to excite Daren's guitar playing as the song progresses. The guitar solo heavily echoes Jimmy Page in its spontaneity and passion. Curiously, the vocals remind me of Perry Farrel and the London Suede in parts; great rhythm and attack in the lyric delivery and the dual lead vocal harmony has some Beatles feel in them as well.

Glass Colored Roses: GCR is the quintessential pop song. One can hear the RUSH influences as Daren even revealed to me that "Subdivisions" was the source of the original inspiration for the melody. Even in the jingle-jangly guitars that also have definitive U2 influences one can hear bits of the Rush tune. The song itself sounds nothing of the like of course and in fact reminds me more of Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" in that it is quite sing-alongy despite melancholic lyrics. Curious to note that Daren is using guitars tuned to special open-tunings of his own design here, something he likes to do on many songs.

Under The Ground: Listening to UTG is like immediately being transported to CBGBs in NYC for a Ramones power-punk show. This never lets up and is full-tilt raw and unbridled MRI at its best. Still, in all it's Ramones-Nirvana homage it is extremely musical sounding with a fantastic bridge that almost sounds like Michael Stype of R.E.M. had some hand in writing it. Love the chorus vocals and the audio samples like the jackhammer that you hear as Daren sings about living under the ground and digging way past China. A real true rocker.

Theme From Your Face: The video for this on youTube is what originally got me so intrigued with all the Area 51 footage and alien autopsy footage. I think MRI makes the coolest videos of any indie band out there today. The video goes so well with the song; it reminds me of A Perfect Circle and Rob Zombie with the driving circular rhythms and slide-guitar banshee croons. The chorus here is amazing in how it contrasts with the verses in such an artist manner; Lennon-McCartney-esq vocals come out of nowhere to sweeten up the change, in beautiful tandem with Daren's major scale guitar lines played almost with a Pink Floyd state of mind. Additionally, I hear a lot of late stage Alice In Chains vocal layers as well as Queen Bohemian Rhapsody style vocal arrangements. There is so much going on in this song I feel lucky to make it out alive sometimes...but you always want to go back inside once you realize that you can experience the production on different levels depending on what mood you're in at the time.

The New Oxygen: According to Daren, TNO is a prototype for a 'rock opera' he is writing. At 8+ minutes long, this is tuly a GEM and an epic song in the spirit of Phantom Of The Opera. The first three minutes is a piano solo played by Daren that was inspired by "Moonlight Sonata" and it may be to most beautifully lachrymose piece I have ever heard in my life. It reminds me very much of Chopin's Prelude In Cminor. I love how then the song segues from classical music mode to all-out stadium rock mode...and then to psychedelic George Martin mode!! The coda especially is a captivating voyage through the sands of time itself ending with a desert caravan trailing off the ends of a flat desolate earth, reborn into a new conscious, or unconscious. 5 stars.

Letters Never Sent: Probably the most enigmatic and engrossing track on entire album. This transports one right into the heart of Arabia. The lush vocal layering reveals a daring foray into Middle Eastern head space with Daren's use of Arabian scalics and semi-tones and quarter tones. This piece is truly hypnotic and the guest vocals of the Arabian singers chanting and crying are resplendent. Letters seems to evoke the ghost of Layne Staley himself as if you were to close your eyes in some parts you would swear it was an outtake from an Alice In Chains record. Also, any Beatles fan will celebrate the samples taken from "I Am The Walrus" as they fit ever so perfectly into the cacophony like mix that ascends right up over the Arabian Sea like a soundtrack to "The Mummy IV".

Bad Fortune Cookie: This has 'rocker' written all over it. Daren described it to me as "Barbershop Quartet on acid" and, well, that is probably the most accurate description one could offer. This song has an amazing guitar solo too that soars into the stratosphere before coming back for a last verse; then a interesting coda here that echos the unique bridge used in the song calling to mind Lennon-McCartney vocal harmonies circa Revolver. I also hear a lot of that "Seattle Sound" in Alan's drums and overall production. Awesome fade in and fade out in this one as well...some neat fx.

Microcephaly Wow I almost thought this was Primus at first! Some crazy guitar set against plodding crashing half time drum beat. I hear again very strong Middle-Eastern influences in the initial verses, but the chorus opens up into a Radiohead-like landscape of acoustic guitars, electric guitars, soaring yet languid vocals. The guitar solo in this must truly be inspired by
a Felini movie; it becomes an aural carnival of craziness immediately after the beautiful bridge. I would describe Microcephaly the same way we describe the month of March: in like a lion and out like a lamb...as the brutal acerbic guitars give way to a melting,glowing,passionate flow of gentle guitars and celestial vocals.

Cliche Man I was extremely impressed with this track in its ability to put reggae-ska music inside a 'pop song' Again, I hear heavy Stuart Copeland - Andy Summers influences; Daren uses a Roland JC 120 in this track and you would think it's a Sting project that was hidden away for some time. I LOVE this song and the spoken word piece at the end is very artistic, very Ginsburg or Leonard Cohen.

Tomorrow Never Knows: It's amazing to think how many times this Beatles song has been covered. I think I need to say now that both Phil Collins and MRI do the very best jobs. I was simply blown away by this...I am not really sure what 'genre' one could place this; but it is definitely in the avant-guard meets techno arena! I think the addition of the George Bush audio quotes is genius. At first I thought that MRI had sampled Lennon's voice too ( in the right ear-right side of the mix ) but I was shocked to find out that it was Daren singing too...you would swear it literally is the tracks taken off of Revolver. John Lennon would be proud...it has a lot of Revolution #9 artistic attitude.

Painting Pretty Pictures: What a great way to end an album. The heavy use of loops and midi lends one to envision Tinker Toys marching along in file...then a dreamy "Up Up And Away In My Beautiful Balloon" flavor is experienced via a complex vocal layering that reminds me of The Manhattan Transfer since I hear Daren's falsetto vocals emulating a woman singing in the same way that Bono emulates a woman in "Lemon". Great Andy Summers guitar loops give way to a lyrical exploration of a lost utopia.