Bristol’s rock scene has done quite well for itself recently. The St Pierre Snake Invasion and Turbowolf have been on form, along with ArcTanGent joining Dot to Dot and Hit the Deck in the family of music festivals bringing the city more attention from across the country. While this has been going on, the city has produced another reason to keep it on the map as trio Mind Museum have been not-so-silently plugging away, and with shows in support of acts such as Young Guns and Twin Atlantic under their belt, the three-piece are now gearing up for Monday’s release of new EP One Blood. Their first official release since 2011 debut album The Power of Three, the EP launch will coincide with the band’s return to the live scene this April. It’s about time too, and the record looks set to ensure that 2014 is another strong year for Bristol rock.
Opening track ‘The Get Go’ writhes into life to kick the album off, and despite being almost too fixated with the exceedingly ingenious “get go/let go” rhyme, it ends up being a powerful introduction. The record throughout is a little more incendiary than previous efforts, with the band just as powerful instrumentally as vocalist Justin Percival is as he leads the ensemble. Made available as a free download last year, ‘The Get Go’ sounds as good as it ever has on the EP, ending exactly as it starts to lead into the title track. ‘One Blood’ is even more vocally towering, with Mind Museum definitely building for the future as they churn out tracks that sound more than worthy of filling arenas. Lyrically the trio could perhaps be a little more inspired, but it’s the deliverance that makes them such a strong-sounding act on record. ‘Answers’ and ‘All the Kings Men’ wrap the record up in a similarly impressive fashion, and One Blood closes out having offered plenty of solid reasons to keep the band on your radar.
Before One Blood it was The Power of Three at the centre of attention; another six-track offering to prove that the trio’s talent is certainly not a recent overnight development. All three band members have their own past projects, and they’ve come together under the Mind Museum banner with a whole heap of potential to build on. In that respect, you’d be forgiven for assuming the album title is at least a little bit self-referential, because it probably is. There is no title track, but ‘Gambling Man’ and ‘Rat Race’ immediately stand out as the highlights. The former is a roaring collision of lungs and strings the likes of which has started to become typical of the band, and while the lyrics once again err on the side of cliché, it’s easy to be too caught up in the track’s driving sound to notice. The latter is a slightly more muted affair; the title track of an earlier EP and certainly capable of continuing to remain at the heart of the band’s back catalogue as time goes on. The Rat Race EP goes on to offer three more tracks also present on The Power of Three, raising the question of exactly what the point was in putting out both with barely six months between the two releases. It ensures that the tracklist remains a strong one, at least, but it does leave you wondering if more could have been achieved if The Power of Three was given a little extra time and a couple more new efforts to offer. Luckily, One Blood has been afforded such a luxury, and the near three year wait does appear to have been worth it. You can only hope that the next dose of tracks arrives sooner rather than later, as it would be a shame for the trio not to capitalise on the renewed form.
Mind Museum have without doubt done more than enough to warrant the praise that they’ve received thus far, with comparisons to the likes of Coheed and Cambria, 30 Seconds To Mars and Blitz Kids certainly understandable. There can be no disputing, at least, that the band have found their mould – all that remains now is for them to figure out exactly how to break it.
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