As of late, I’ve been really digging the music of Michigan based band Mason Proper. Their album Olly Oxen Free came out in September and is one of the best releases of the year. Their music has a chill, lo-fi experimental feel to it, and songs like “Safe For the Time Being” bring to mind a more mellow Born Ruffians.
This album as a whole is really solid. Pretty much every song has a catchy hook, and the band does a great job of keeping things simple, while keeping a unique sound that’s not quite like anything I’ve heard before. My favorite tracks include “Fog,””Lock and Key,””Out Dragging The River,””In The Mirror,” and “Safe For The Time Being.”
When Culture Bully asked the band in an interview if they were cautious writing new music in fear of sounding too much like stuff that’s already out there, Visger responded “Oh, absolutely. We’ve got a very developed personal palette of signature tricks at this point, so I don’t think we have to worry about it consciously very much, but if something sets off our pastiche alarm we don’t do it.”
Mason Proper formed in Alpena, Michigan in 2004, originally under the name Patterns in Paris, and is made up of singer Jonathan Visger, Zac Fineberg (bassist), Garrett Jones (drummer), Brian Konicek (guitarist), Matt Thomson (keyboards). In 2006, after releasing their debut album the The Early Years and Moth, they signed to New York based label Dovecote.
Olly Oxen Free (2008):
Mason Proper – Out Dragging The River
(video) Mason Proper performing “Fog” live on Lansing’s Impact89FM
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcfiXNRc_aA&e[/youtube]
nice review.