Sometimes a band knows exactly what they are. Mhos and Ohms, a bass-and-drum duo from Madison, WI, describes themselves as “economical thump”: “six strings of bass … four drums … vocals.” They’re direct and to-the-point in their 63-word press kit (yes, I counted), and they’re direct and to-the-point on their four song EP Tale of Despair.
There’s very limited instrumentation on Tale of Despair, as described above (though they didn’t mention the usual set of cymbals). Despite this, Mhos and Ohms do a fine job of avoiding the usual small-group trap, where the band feels pressure to fill the space. Throughout, they show restraint and taste, and allow the songs to breathe. Clearly, the duo has the ability to play more notes and faster patterns; we do get bursts here and there. Mhos and Ohms use those displays of dexterity to support the song, and not as the point of the song, or the band, in the first place. It’s refreshing. The four tracks have a clean, coherent sound. Bass riffs abound with interspersed chords, and changing tones throughout. We can hear the nuances of the drum parts, and they are locked in with the bass. It all works. “Tale of Despair”, the uptempo opening track, starts with some feedback, leads into a heavy overture, and settles into a groove that alternates a melodic riff with chordal hits. “The River” begins with a poppy drum beat and the bass almost sounds like a regular guitar ripping through a grunge song. This chordal feel returns on the outro as it builds into a terrific finish. “Growl” offers particularly notable drumming and a nice contrast between the aggressive-sounding verses with the softer middle sections. The instrumental call-and-response from the bass to, well, itself, also works very well. The final track “Crooked Hand” finds Mhos and Ohms playing with their listeners a bit. The track is a bit slower than the others, but the middle section offers some figures that fake us out. It seems like we are going to head to some balls-out thrash metal, but it’s just a small flurry of notes and they stay in the slower groove. The track ends on some dissonance and feedback--kind of where we started--and we’re left wanting more. It’s hard to pick a favorite track here, as they’re all well-constructed with their own merits. While bass-and-drums is not my usual spin, I listened to Tale of Despair over and over, and very much enjoyed this release.
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