Mr. Gnome

In recent years I have become increasingly reluctant to trust my ears to your run of the mill “rock” music. Maybe I’m just getting older, but it seems that the majority of rock music has lost all contact with musical creativity. The formula these days apparently is as follows: Choose your three favorite power chords, play loud, repeat. I think we have all become victims of the music scene parodied in This Is Spinal Tap!, and those cursed amps that go to “11″. Fortunately, with the existence of groups such as Mr. Gnome, the genre bending indie-rock duo from Cleveland, Ohio, the fate of the rock genre may not be as grim as I once suspected. “Pirates” demonstrates the emotive grandeur of heavy distortion by use of dramatic dynamic pauses, and howling vocals provided by singer/guitarist, Nicole Barille. The track opens with a deceptively soothing triplet played by Barille, and from there the song continually gains momentum, which is brought to near frenzy with the aid of the aggressive percussion of Sam Meister. By the close of “Pirates” I sense a growing urge to hear more wall-of-sound guitar, and break neck pauses. I can also admit, I have missed decent rock music, and Mr. Gnome makes me want to hear more.

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