Bend In Time

Mass Solo Revolt's 2010 sophomore effort Bend in Time is a brooding and expansive follow-up to the band's urgent 2007 debut Easy Mark. Lead singer/songwriter Martin Brummeler once again delivers a strong, inventive set of tunes that seem to come at you with a roil of melodic and rhythmic interplay. These are deeply felt, inner-looking songs with knotty, post-rock, and hardcore sections that rub up against cinematic new wave-esque keyboards and visceral, seething guitar lines. Although the album as a whole may take a few more spins than Easy Mark to grab your ear, such tracks as the lead-off "It's All Circles" and the muscular "Boot Strapper" veritably pummel you with catchy melodic statements and clever lyrical nuggets like, "Okay, here comes the second verse where I elaborate on the first." Similarly, tracks like the sprawling, atmospheric "Mr. Fang" may at first seem like growers, but by the time Brummeler is defiantly crooning "No, I'm not sorry no I'm not sorry!" against a shimmering wave of symphonic sound, the song — as with most of Bend in Time — has sunk its teeth into your soul.