What is a Meligrove?...

It’s sometimes hard to admit when you’re wrong. Ok, it’s always hard to admit when you’re wrong. So after seeing the highly touted Meligrove Band at Zaphods this past Thursday I must admit that I was wrong. I was wrong about their sound. I was wrong about their image and I was wrong about their authenticity.

From the onset I was a skeptical listener – blame it on the cover art! – assuming that the band would seemingly spew retro pop-infused songs exhibiting influences borrowed from Ben Folds Five and Pink Floyd. My first half-hearted preview of the album wouldn’t garner a fair estimation of their musicianship but at the same time what I had perused didn’t exactly make me a 'Meligrove fanatic'. So when I was asked to go to their show you could imagine my total lack of enthusiasm. But I was willing to give them a try seeing that their onstage presence was supposedly a lot more convincing than their recorded effort.

From the first note of their opening song until the final encore, I was astonished that I had never even given their album a second chance! During the show I found myself holding back from a full-out mano a mano dance party as they progressed through their set. The Meligrove’s singer/pianist/guitarist Jason Nunes, guitarist/synth/trumpeter Andrew Scott, Drummer Darcy Rego and Bassist Michael Small’s humorous flare onstage resulted in a rendition of the Magnum P.I. theme song and condensed versions of hair-rock introductions from drummer Darcy Rego. Their execution of beautifully complex vocal and musical arrangements made up for their sometimes painfully naive lyrics – “…ohh I, I think about it, ohh I, I dream about it, oh I never want to be alone again. I love you and I hope you’ll come through..." *cringe* Regardless, their sensual combustion of strings which revealed shifting piano chords and intricate percussions made for uniquely fresh pop songs that were both easy and infectious.

Recently signed to V2 Records and produced by Jose Contreras (of By Divine Right), the Meligrove Band has attempted to capture its raw energy and sound on their latest album Planets Conspire. The album listens like a continuous songscape with all the songs drawn from a similar palette of events. Although I still prefer their live act to their recorded version, I have been known to be wrong…

Highlights ::
1. “Our Love Will Make the World Go Round”
2. “Everyone’s a Winner”
3. Trumpets, Pianos + Tambourines!
4. ‘Rockstar’ stories about shooting ranges in Texas
5. Andrew Scott’s Moustache

Hear it! :: www.meligroveband.com // www.myspace.com/meligroveband