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In the interest of full disclosure, I used to be a guitarist for this band. So while you might think this makes me a little biased, consider this: A) It speaks highly of those in the band (I don’t call myself Obnoxious for nothing!) and B) I haven’t played in this band since 2006, so I haven’t had a hand in the music for quite a while.
Never Eat on an Empty Stomach (2009) is Melon’s best recording and most cohesive album thus far. They’ve maintained a plethora of musical influences while managing to develop a sound of their own. These guys have something unique going for them and just need a little bit more exposure to make the next jump. In the interest of getting their music out to a wider audience, Melon has their newest album for sale (tomorrow!) at a price of the buyer’s choice.
I suppose you could call Melon stoner rock or sludge, but there’s just too much going on to pigeon hole these guys. They’re certainly Obnoxious Listeners and have an even wider range of musical tastes than myself. There are very few people I’ve met that know more bands than me and also typically know every band I throw at them. Melon has a couple members that fit this description, so you can imagine how wide the influences are for the band. Melon has apparent influences ranging from The Melvins, Mike Patton, Tool, Sleep, and Frank Zappa. Once you dig deeper than the surface you’ll hear there’s influences well beyond the sonic style. Their latest release, Never Eat on an Empty Stomach, even has a John Coltrane line from My Favorite Things and a Creedance Clearwater cover, Commotion.
The band’s main writer told me that one of the themes of Never Eat on an Empty Stomach is “loud guitars”. You won’t mistake this band for having anything less than loud guitars. The bass and guitar sync very nicely, as you might expect in a sludge rock band. Beyond that though, their singer is loud too. He has so much confidence behind his voice and isn’t afraid to do anything out of the ordinary if it fits with the music. For the most part he actually sings instead of screeching and grumbling so common these days. But sometimes he does distort his voice, laugh, or even make noises that words cannot describe succinctly. It’s just crazy enough to fit the music.
When you listen to Melon, make sure you bring a sense of humor too. Sometimes they do things just because it’s crazy and unexpected. For example, there’s a secret track at the end of Never Eat on an Empty Stomach that’s basically an electronic dance song. I asked the main writer what that was about. He said he needed something to work out to… As an aside, make sure you check out the singer’s artwork too. His artwork is incredibly detailed and… insane to say the least.
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