Small things

Lemuria
Pebble
Bridge 9



(Editor's note: The sad fact of the matter is that I have a very demanding job which leaves me very little, if any, time to write blogs. I restarted The Midpoint with the hopes that simply having dominion over a small slice of the web would guilt me into regular posting. Several months later I see that isn't the case, sadly. I will do what I can, starting with my favorite thing to write about, new(ish) music! I don't care that it's almost March of 2012, I'm going to write about my favorite albums of 2011 in alphabetical order by band name.)

The release of Lemuria's latest LP on Bridge 9 records certainly raised a few eyebrows here and there. Bridge 9 is known mostly for hardcore acts, and I was unsure if the move signified a change in Lemuria's sound. It wouldn't have surprised me, I've always felt Lemuria was a hardcore band masquerading as a pop act. However Pebble is not a hardcore album per se, the band and label have maintained both camps are simply pursuing new direction. Still, the secret hardcore sound of Lemuria has been maintained here. Loads and loads and loads of sound from one guitar, one bass, drums, and two rather quiet voices.

A pebble is a small thing, insignificant. The album is appropriately titled as singer/guitarist Sheena Ozzella and drummer/singer Alex Kerns take us straight to the heart of their struggles with meaning and significance. Sometimes it's jealousy ("Different Girls") sometimes it's marginalization ("The One") and sometimes it's simply the bitterness of watching the undeserved get their way ("Gravity"). Kerns' and Ozzella's struggles are fascinating and thrilling to experience, nothing is hidden from us. It's all accompanied by such an overwhelming sound that the album can be emotionally exhausting to listen to.

Thankfully, right in the middle, we are gifted with one more form of vulnerability, the simple act of expressing to someone the beauty you see in them and the way they see the world and the shame of seeing someone lose that perspective. "Ribcage" at first seems out of place on album so fraught with emotional pitfalls. However, its revelation of a different kind of vulnerability which can leave us all feeling like pebbles works well here.

"Wise People"