Mile Marker Zero
The 5th Row
"Source Code" opens The 5th Row with a nifty montage of
sound bites and quotes from the past thirty-plus years of US and World history,
from Reagan's "Tear down this wall!" to a 9/11 Truther's doubt-filled
questioning of the ability of a plane to bring down the towers. This introduction establishes certain
expectations of what comes next. Fortunately, what comes next is excellent.
Mile Marker Zero's tight, heavy
progressive rock, filled with catchy hooks, well-integrated electronics, and
sing-along-friendly vocals appeals on an aesthetic level engaging both taste
and thought. The tracks sport an
abundance of Rush and other prog-rock DNA, including lead bass, synthesizers,
and really tight production. Discursive
passages down quieter, reflective paths keep The 5th Row from becoming solely an intense assault of technique
and technical prowess. There's plenty of
loud guitar-led awesomeness, but these guys don't just stress attack.
While nothing I can find indicates
that The 5th Row is a concept album as such, there's certainly a significant
theme of running through the tracks.
From the opening "Source Code" to the symbolic "2001,"
"Digital Warrior," "Building a Machine," "Sacred
Geometry," "UI," "2020" and various other tracks
throughout, it helps to bring some nerd cred to the experience.
The New England-based quintet,
having met and formed at Western Connecticut University's school of music,
wastes no line-up slots on duplication of effort. Vocalist Dave Alley gets significant help
from guitarist John Tuohy, bassist Tim Rykoski, drummer Doug Alley and
piano/keyboardist Mark Focarile. Given
the band's origins, very little else should surprise about The 5th Row. The previous
sentence is the opposite of pejorative; Mile Marker Zero produces is some
smart, thoughtful music - the kind you might get from guys with the kind of
time college students have to collaborate and really dial into their craft,
covering the kind of topics students getting a decent liberal arts foundation
might be encouraged to read and think about.
It might be possible to put The 5th
Row on as some good ambient background tunage, but eventually the intelligence
of the ideas, styles and lyrics will break through and force the listener to
really engage with the complicated nature of what MMZ hath wrought.
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