Customer Reviews

There Is a Moth in Your Chest

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Mason Proper's proprietary blend of sardonic indifference and exuberance affects me in an alarming, fundamental way. They make me crane my neck as if to stretch my ears away from my shoulders; they make me twist my head away from my body because in their crisp distortion-edged post-punk gems, everything sounds new. My physical response is less a dance than an irrepressible full-body twitch with a tickling sensation in my nose that makes for facial contortions very like a smile.

"Chance encounters" opens the album with a plaintive pop caress followed by the achingly catchy syncopated saunter of "Miss Marylou Carreau." The energy and playful ah-ing of "My My (Bad Fruit)" keep the rotting fruit metaphor shakily afloat which gives way to the stand-out "100 Yrs," a song-writing and mixing accomplishment of the first order. They skirt the pitfalls of formula-punk fatigue and and forgettable melodic lo-fi with the urgency of the sounds that emanate from their mouths and smart experimental embroidery. More accessible than The Books, as beautiful as Modest Mouse at their best but far more consistent, smarter than Pulp and Clap Your Hands, the more relevant comparions are probably David Lynch and Jan Svankemajer, perhaps David Foster Wallace or Dave McKean. I should tell you more about the infectious middle of the album and the shocking beauty of the last three tracks (particularly "Carousel! Carousel!"), but we'd probably just drown in adjectives and really, better you hear it for yourself.

This band totally blows me away. When I first heard the record, I was blown away how all the songs sounded so different, yet still worked together. "Mr. Charm" is this hyper upbeat track that reminds me of Futureheads or the Jam. "Life's Cornucopia" is this very introspective haunting track that sounds like no other band I've heard. There's not a bad track on this record. It goes from hazy, clowdy day music to super-blue-sky pop. You could put each track on a different mixtape. Later, I got online and learned that they were all 20 and recorded all the tracks themselves. I have spent years recording my own music and can't get the clarity and effect these guys have. I've heard they are awesome live, unfortunately I live in California and they haven't made their way out here yet. Heavily recommended.

One day I was browsing around on Pandora, when I came across these guys playing "A Chance Encounter." I loved it so much, I acquired my copy of Moth immediately, and haven't regretted it one bit. From start to finish, Mason Proper seems to have mastered the art of versatility. Each song can easily stand on it's own, creating it's own feeling that is completely unique from the next. Amazing vocals, singing intelligent lyrics. Even the backup harmonies are awesome, and I'm a sucker for those. Starting from the essentially epic pop songs like "A Chance Encounter," "My My (Bad Fruit)," and "100 Years," to the slightly toned down, and even a bit tragic sounds of "Miss Marylou Carreau," "The World Is Smaller Than You Think," "I Spy," and "Carousel! Carousel!," add some crazy rock-out pieces such as "Lights Out," and "Mr. Charm," and then toss in a few space-out tracks like "Life's Cornucopia" and "Blue Lips Eternal Inquiry." Boil it up, and you hold this perfect gem of an album in your hands. It's a must have for anyone who loves indie music, or cares about the future of music in general.

I'm not one to make comparisons, I really don't like to. However, even if I was to try, I don't think I can really list off any number of bands that can appropriately capture the essence of this band and give it the justice it deserves. They have a sound that is all their own, and I think it will stay that way. Take it from me, out of the innumerable bands I've come across in the past year, these guys are by far the best I've found since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Better even.

Definitely pick this album up.

On There Is A Moth In Your Chest Mason Proper present a collection of songs that seem to take traditional indie and alternative rock styles of the last twenty years and boil them down into something that is uniquely theirs. This blend of sounds isn't just through-out the album, but occurs several times within individual songs. This is best seen on "Blue Lips Eternal Inquiry," which begins with synthesized sounds layered over acoustic guitar building into a crescendo of noise which pull listeners through a dreamy and surreal mesh of sounds including piano and strings. The rest of Moth is just as hard to categorize but equally stunning; what Mason Proper may lack in consistency they make up for in the ability to morph familiar sounds into something completely unique. The best example is the stellar track, "Life's Cornucopia," a song that builds a wealth of sound around a strong piano part. Upon first listen Moth might seem like a modern ode to classics such as Pixies, Radiohead, or Sonic Youth; but Mason Proper goes further than imitation, by forging a variety of sounds into a singular sound that is distinctly original and utterly beautiful.

This debut album by the Alpena natives reminds me of a place where one can eat ice cream sandwiches in the dark while dreaming of electric shoe horns dangling off a precipice just out of reach making one wonder if they will fall off grasping for them while believing it possible to burrow into the very core of the world where Lord Kinbote holds dominion over the CHUDS. Like all Alpena bands, the uncredited lead guitar work is done by Satan, and he can really wail. This music is a multi-layerd, orgiastic explosion of subliminal profundity. Played backwards, one hears, "won ecnad ydobyreve". Brilliant.

There Is A Moth In Your Chest is the perfect allusion to the bodily experience gone through when listening to Mason Proper's newly released album. Adrenaline begins pumping during "A Chance Encounter," and "Miss Marylou Carreau," amidst bursts of excitement upon hearing the surprisingly fresh experimental noises and instrumentals. "My My (Bad Fruit)," gets you up and running, and then bleeds into an amazing transition to "100 Yrs," without letting you pause for a breath. You might break into a spazzy dance sequence during the minute long, "Intimidation," before melting into the bizarrely groovin', "Chemical Dress Eliza." The catchy synth melody at the beginning of "Lights Off" forces your hands together in a crazy clapping fury, while the rest of the song blows your mind with the amount of inventive sound capabilities of the Proper Masons. Upon hearing "The World Is Smaller Than You Think," your breath will catch in your chest, and that fluttering moth triggers your existential questioning. Mr. Charm provides one last spaz dance opportunity before the entering the heart-breaking and haunting, "I Spy" and "Life's Cornucopia." "Carousel! Carousel!" is the quintessential pop closer, with a few hiccupped twists amidst the satisfyingly familiar chord progressions. This mind-blowingly unbelievable musical through-line is concluded with "Blue Lips Eternal," a song that combines elements of every song on the album, making you want to start There Is A Moth In Your Chest all over again. This is high quality, professional indie-experimental-pop-rock. One of the best albums I have ever heard in my life.

Being an Ann Arbor native, I am extremely pleased to see a band with so much talent rise from my home town. This group has originality, persistence, and a non-generic yet great sound. Check these guys out. My favorite songs are Miss Marylou Careau, Mr. Charm, I Spy, Lights Off, and Bad Fruit.

First of all these guys don't even mess around. There is nothing in this world that can come close to beating Mason Proper in originality. Is that even a word? Yes, Originality with a capitol O. The first time I saw these guys live I thought to myself, "This band sounds like they crashed into the Nintendo game, Kirby's Dreamland and started playing some tunes." If you have never had the opportunity to hear any of their material before I think it sounds like this: get a blender....throw the postal service, a homeless person [with a beard], death cab for cutie, kirby's dreamland, the artist formally known as prince and a spaceship into it and turn it on. Bam! Mason Proper. There is a Moth in Your Chest, is the album that your CD collection is missing. It is an addicting mix of emotion, energy, and something that you have never even heard before. You should buy it. I guarantee you will not be able to stop telling everyone about it.

always my favorite to listen to when walking about the city... the lead singers voice jumps from a beautiful soft whisper like to strong and passionate... i feel like it is the soundtrack to my days, and it's wonderful.

I am often asked to describe the sound of Mason Proper due to the fact that I shamelessly promotion of the band to all of those within a twenty-five foot radius of me on a regular basis. Unfortunately, no matter how many times the inquisitive ask, I can never give an appropriate answer. Perhaps the best way to describe their sound is what the band has dubbed "schizophrenic pop," in that no song sounds the same - and a philosophy that band member, Jon Visger embodies, with his Lewis Carroll penned antics, while on stage.

The bands distinctive sound starts with Jon Visger's scatterbrain vocals coupled with Matt Thomson's delicately haunting falsetto, which supplies Mason Proper with a truly endearing yet cryptic sound. These vocals are abruptly juxtaposed with the cacophony emanating from a suitcase full of electronic contraptions configured by mad-scientist Matt Thomson (born Matt Thompson) as well as Brian Konicek's distortion fed, pop-infused guitar. All the while bassist Zac Fineberg and drummer Jesse Parsons provide an onslaught of punchy rhythms to drive the songs on There Is a Moth in Your Chest. These aforementioned, tumultuous sounds come together, however, in a most disarmingly melodic manner. Like Mason Proper themselves, all the songs on There Is a Moth In Your Chest are enigmatic; the few topics which can be discerned include brain mites, a mysterious book, and...chance encounters...chemical dresses...and other unresolved issues experienced only in the world of Mason Proper.

Standout songs on "Moth" include:
A Chance Encounter - pure indie pop goodness
Life's Cornucopia - beautiful piano and vocals surrounded by a plethora of harmonious accompaniments combine to create a haunting amalgamation.
Carousel! Carousel! - simply endearing

The new, reworked album provides "Moth" with a more uniform sound, rather that sounding like a collection of songs (which was one of the few complaints of the previous incarnation of the album). The new version also boasts a more clear and energetic representation of Mason Proper, which is more indicative of their live shows (sans the unusual gesticulations and band member collisions); the now vigorous amalgamation My My (Bad Fruit) provides the best example of this significant upgrade - it's as if they gave the song a shot of epinephrine to the heart.