Customer Reviews

Built on Squares

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was amazed by the album. The sounds were so different from what I was used to. I first heard "Brass Digger" on a complication CD, and I expected more songs like it on "Built on Squares." Well, it turns out their usual sound is not much like "Brass Digger." It's better. It all works in a wonderful discordant way. My favorites are "Black Cat," "Goldstar," and "Irene."

This is one of the two CDs that regularily hijacks my creativity. It's impossible to disengage my mind from it. I have no choice but to sit and listen in awe.

I hardly know where to begin on this review. My 18-year old daughter brought home the cd after hearing them in concert as an opening act for the Flaming Lips. I was immediately taken with it and them and found myself compelled to play it over and over. Partly because it was so good and partly because I couldn't get over how innovative and different it was. "Built On Squares" has made it difficult to go back to straight pop songs with straight lyrics, for I am inexplicably drawn to their quirky and contagious sounds.

I will have to go out and buy my own copy because I am tired of waiting my turn to borrow hers. And I am going to have to buy several copies because I keep thinking of friends who would love this but might not hear about it through their regular sources. I am even sending one to a friend in France. We have the advantage of having them be from our area, although that doesn't mean they play here often. I'd not even heard of them until recently. And now I can't get them out of my head.

I don't know the names of all the songs to write in much detail, but "Pages" is one of my favorites. I always have to get up and move when it comes on. Now I have to go out and buy their first cd and I look forward to seeing what else they come up with. A great band, with an outstanding cd and a potentially phenomenal future.

UPDATE - Still listening to this cd as of April 2006. After buying several copies for friends, I did give one to my French friend when visiting him last month in Paris. He and his amis loved it as well and played it constantly during my visit. (And I'd brought them 5 new cd's.) Just to put it in perspective, every year I choose one upbeat, remarkable, innovative cd to buy in bulk and give away as gifts to family and friends that might not otherwise glom onto its existence. This was the give-away cd of that year.

Looking forward to their newest cd and their continuted success.
BigSis26

Holy Shazam, I absolutely cannot stop listening to this one. I find it is especially useful when stalled in rush hour traffic, or when it seems that everyone around you wants to run you off the road, give you the finger, weave you into a tail-spin, the music masks the madness causing you to involuntarily hop, bop, smile, sing, and even has been known to give fits of euphoric seizures. This is the musical equivalent to heroin, it's highly addictive. This is the kind of rare CD where one needn't skip to the better song, every one is great. If you're still mourning the passing of the pixies, why don't you try the mints? A true masterpiece.

There must be something in the water in central Oklahoma. How else could a state that's at the buckle of the bible belt produce a band that writes such delightfully quirky music? These guys get compared to the Flaming Lips a lot, but the only real comparison is that they're both from Oklahoma and they're both kooky. If you like the Lips you'll like the Mints, but their music has its own uniqueness. Call it a mix of Pavement, the Pixies, and Saturday morning cartoon music, it's just too hard to categorize. The songs are wierd but melodic and fun. A far cry from most music being made these days. The fourth track, Pages, is so catchy it should be a single, but is probably too good to get any real radio airplay. The songs that don't grab your attention right away have a way of growing on you. The album is so complicated yet fun you will find yourself listening to it 2-3 times a day and liking it more with each listen. This is a must buy for any independent music lover.

This albums is not for everyone. It's certainly not very straightforward. It's got a mix of skittish beats, electronic blips, and acoustic rock. Refreshing, and very catchy after a few listens. Highlights are "Irene," "Goldstar," "Zillion Eyes," and "Brass Digger." You really won't find too many artists out there that are similar to the Starlight Mints. But make no mistake, the music is great. If you're looking for an artist to compare it to, I'd say the Mints are most similar to Beck circa '96, without the hip-hop influence.

The Starlight Mints mix sweet, guilty-pleasure-sounding music, slightly-goofy sounding vocals and charming, innocent lyrics to form a sound that sounds a bit strange, but sates that primeval lust for music that is important in our life behind only food, sex and ice-cube making. Allan Vest (I believe, don't yell if it isn't) has an odd singing voice that, occasionally, would suit a comedian well. It has that endearing charm to it, you'll find, as he says indignantly, "she tried to shoot me with a--(goldstar gun)," proudly states "I saw the Atlantic" and whispers conspiratorially that he requires a "...black cat detector." Shh.

The first track, "Black Cat," utilizes string instruments at the beginning to set the tone as a sort of light, funky mood. The verses feature Vest's low, secretive voice muttering to the bass and cymbols. The strings kick in before the chorus, which features catchy guitars. This song is a great opener and one of the jewels of the album. "Brass Digger," the second track, is a bit slower-sounding than the opener, but no less enjoyable. Track three, "Goldstar," starts with a rush of sound, then quickly hooks back into a slow-moving background, during which Vest describes his encounter with a girl and lets out a sarcastic "har, har, har..." at her deeds. The chorus features a great rock sound and nice backing vocals singing out "Gooooooooldstaaaaaaar gunnnnn..." Great song.

Track four, "Pages," has slightly more serious vocals and a great funk-pop background. Vest sings gently in the chorus about someone whose name is a crucifier and heart, apparently, needs a bigger sweater. I'd talk about how good this cut is, but, after saying such things about the first three, praising gets a little old. This is also a great, slow, semi-acoustic song. Number five, "Buena Vista," is one that I occasionally skip. The opening music sequence is slightly annoying to me. It's a very short song that sounds as though it could be the theme song for a TV sitcom. That's not a good thing. It's not bad, but it just really isn't good, either. Track six, "Irene," is much better, featuring some cool distorted bass, some nice piano work and the singer melodramatically telling off Irene. He enjoys it more than a little. It closes with pretty female vocals and brass instruments.

Track seven, "Rinky-Dinky," is a candidate for the best cut on the album. It has a danceable intro, some great vocals, nice keys from guest Derek Brown, and is very, very catchy. Track eight, "Zillion Eyes," is very slow and somber, but far from boring. A hint of sadness sneaks into Vest's voice for the first time. "'Til the music stops..." he sighs to the closing outro. Good song. Next is Track nine, "Jack In the Squares," which starts with begging Jack Archibald for a song "like a ding-dong." This isn't my favorite song, and it's rather short, but it's still a fairly good cut. Track ten, "San Diego," is much better; a catchy chorus and poppy verse make a very good song. Also, by the end of the song, you won't have ANY doubts as to why they drove to San Diego. The finale, track eleven, "Jimmy Cricket," has a great intro that will have you jerkily swaying to the melody. The vocals to this song are a bit more serious, too, and fit the mood very well. What began with strings ("Black Cat") ends with strings; the slow moody vibrations contrast nicely with the frivolous, poppy strings of the first cut. "Jimmy Cricket" is a strong end to a great album.

At 34:20, "Built On Squares" is short enough to go through in one listen and each track is good enough that you won't have to skip any. The only two tracks that I consider inferior (Jack In the Squares, Buena Vista), are short enough to go through and good enough that you'd want to hear them. This album was a pleasant surprise for me when I found it (my sister's college radio station crashed, so she just took a few CD's), and it's now a mainstay in my collection. Buy it and quickly. Do yourself a favor.

This is the greatest thing since Pavement, The Pixies, Tom Waits, and Joe Henry. Buy this CD immediately. It's cinematic. It's the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist. It's incredible music that just keeps getting better with every listen.

I loved the mints first album.

I waited and waited to see them live- I bought this at their show that opened the new tour. First listen, it just didn't seem to live up to the first album.
I was a bit disapointed, but with it in the car cd player for a bit it just kept growing on me and leaving the quirky, poppy songs in my head.

If you liked the first album, definately check this one out as well.

On the first listen, my anticipation for this album hardly seemed appropriate by the middle of the fourth track. By the end of the disc, nothing but disappointment. I have given it countless listens since then and I honestly only like three of the songs. On "Built On Squares", the Mints completely abandon the baroque-pop sound that worked so well on the near-perfect "Dream That Stuff Was Made Of". To me, this album sounds like a completely different band, going for a sound that has been done, done again and worn out by so many others (I know it's a stretch, but think Thrill Kill Kult's "Hit and Run Holiday"). I gave "Squares" two stars because the Mints at their not-so-best are still better than a lot of other bands' best.

If you are looking for Dreams pt 2 this isn't it. But only if, of course, you mean a rehash of where they have already been. Swiftly drawing from the Flaming Lips camp as well as the Elephant Six compound (not to mention that pocketful of late 90s slack pop knicknacks), The Mints deliver hooks with their experimentation and orchestration. Sure, there is plenty of sweet stuff here, but with the offside moment or rock passage, it is not simply sugar. But there is enough good nature and humor here that it all comes off with a delightful sense of whimsy which is more Anglo sharp than depressively surreal. I never feel depressed when listening to The Mints! I am at a loss to isolate any one track as the best or the worst. Though I must admit sometimes I just want something abit moodier(like..uh.. Calla's Televise...). But when I start the album, I just tumble through the whole thing. In short, this is a summer record which is for those who don't need to rock but just have to roll! Bravo, Starlight Mints! Keep it coming, short and sweet!