Sixties come to the naughties!

The Mavyns have been active on the city’s music scene for over two years. With their happy vibe that puts even the heaviest rockers at warm, fuzzy ease, the quartet is now out with their debut studio album, From The Tree of No Ledge.

The Mavyns have been active on the city’s music scene for over two years. With their happy vibe that puts even the heaviest rockers at warm, fuzzy ease, the quartet is now out with their debut studio album, From The Tree of No Ledge.

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Though the band has previously released an EP and a live recording, their latest features 13 tracks, with a few that go on for as long as 13 minutes (the average length being over eight minutes). Sticking to their jam band-driven sound and raw appeal, their sound has often invited comparisons (inspiration, rather) from that of The Beatles and Velvet Underground. This time too, the laid back sound hits the listeners right from the opening track ‘Star seeds…’ to ‘Soul friend….’.

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Comprising a singing foursome, the band features Vivek Nair on the keyboard and guitars, Kristofor Mendonca on the drums, Pradeep Mathews on the lead guitar and Varoon Nair on the bass and harp, all of whom show their ability to lend vocals in turns through the album.

Musically, the record tracks the band’s evolution from their longhaired, Brit alternative rock sound days to exploring genres from garage rock, post punk and sixties psychedelia. Their sound gets a fresh twist with the help of instruments like the harmonica on ‘Bad milk…’, the mouth harp and djembe on ‘Star seed…’ and even a flute, that features on ‘Golden silence…’. Taking from the abstractness of the latter, the band moves further into Morrison territory with the bluesy ‘Some side of the story…’. Mixing these unusual instruments to their otherwise simple musical arrangements gives it a good touch.

If you’re looking for some easy listening, this one is a good buy for laid back hearing. However, the raspy vocals and syncopated guitar riffs get a bit repetitive after multiple listens.

Band: The Mavyns

Album: From The Tree of No Ledge

Price: Rs 110

Available at:

http://nh7.in/themavyns/

What we like

Simple arrangements, laidback listening

What we don’t like

Sound gets a bit repetitive after a while

Rating: ***