Mean Red Spiders
Still Life Fast Moving
Two guitars , a bass, a drum kit, microphone and a korg have been a standard for Toronto’s Mean Red Spiders since the mid-90’s when they burst into a scene full of East-coast pop, post-grunge, and the brit-pop revival. And while those sub-genres of music all began to wear out their welcome, the low-key, laid back, partially psychedelic dronology that the Spiders were performing didn’t and hasn’t yet become tired.
There’s a conformity to an MRS song, a standard relaxation to tension, ebb and flow, peaks and valley that nearly every song of theirs adheres to. Whether pure instrumental or with whisper-thin, scraping on barely audible vocals of Lisa Nighswander, the songs all have a build up to a climax, then sometimes a come-down, and sometimes many rise and falls. As they’ve progressed on this their third full length from teenageUSA the Spiders have advanced, in sound depth (adding a twist and a toss of say an accordian, or xylophone or some other soft percussives), a true alternative band, but retaining a pop sensibility that shines through in tracks like Beaconsfield and They Met Only Once, which contain catchy riffs or subdued, but cheery bup-bups (are hand claps far off).
The Spiders are now verging on melding their stile to territory one explored by the likes of Lush and Serge Gainsburg…. There’s a sixties pastiche that sometimes blurs into nineties sensibilities, but also wouldn’t feel too out of place in the space-rock of the seventies.
Sincere, collected and cool.