Meneguar- I Was Born At Night (2005)

In my opinion, Meneguar was one of the most unsung bands of the last decade. While not necessarily a devotee, I listen to my fair share of indie rock and I've never heard another band that played said style of music with such unbridled passion. I'm not talking about in a live setting, unfortunately I never had the pleasure of seeing a Meneguar show. I'm talking about on tape. To me a show will always be the preferred way to experience music and albums should strive to capture the electricity that makes seeing music live so exciting. That is exactly why I consider I Was Born At Night to be a masterpiece, it sounds like the band was having just as much fun tracking these songs as they did when playing them live. This EP was initially released by Magic Bullet and was one of the label's early forays into music outside of the extreme. It's odd to think that if I weren't a fan of Majority Rule and Texbook Traitors I never would have heard this band.

Trying to encapsulate Meneguar in a paragraph or two is a pretty daunting task. I think that's due to the fact that they manage to remind me of the best aspects of a number of bands while not actually sounding anything like those bands. Take Weezer for instance. The Blue Album is littered with wonderful sing-along choruses. Menegar take it a step further. The chorus to every single song on this album demands that you sing-along. Give it two listens and try your hardest not to, I dare you. Their rhythm section pounds like Weezer did every now and again, but really that's where the comparison ends. The energy and enthusiasm with which they play reminds me of pop punk in the vein of The Ramones or Dillinger Four and the plentiful booty shakin' bass lines are reminiscent of the latter in particular. However, Meneguar isn't a pop punk band. I hear the Chuck Berry influenced garage rock of Hot Snakes. I can spot the dancy indie beat of Q and Not U. I hear the echoes of jangly guitar-driven indie rock bands from the 90's like Jawbox. While that last one might be the best overall comparison, the hammer is still pretty fucking far from the nail's head.

Whatever they sounded like, I was always nonplussed as to why Meneguar never attained the status of a band like Minus The Bear, who, while Menegar were producing two of the best indie rock releases of the decade, were beginning a backslide that sent them down into the mire with a million other terrible indie bands (there was a brief pause with Planet of Ice). Please come back Meneguar, I miss you.

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(Listen to it LOUD)

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