ML Everyone Looks Like Somebody Else CATMD106

Pacific Northwest electronic music trio ML have spent the last few years changing their name from Thine Eyes to ML (pronounced mluh) , being part of various compilations and doing a release for toast and jam records. Now ML have put together a full-length for n5MD entitled "everyone looks like somebody else". With Delicate playful melodies mixed with crunchy beats that almost seem organic in nature "everyone looks like somebody else" is almost beyond comparison. There are many layers to this CD from the skittering shuffle of "my xmas tree and me" to the deliberate percussion of "quick kit" to the melancholic melodies of "sneakerwave". There is literally something for everyone in "everyone...." [ learn more about ML]

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ML used to be known as Thine Eyes, a moniker that nicely fit its early '90s incarnation as an ethereal/industrial group, but which seemed like a bit of an albatross around the neck as the band dropped the vocals and moved its sound into more playful IDM-flavored areas. So after a 1999 remix album, the trio adopted its new name (which is apparently pronounced "mluh") and began work on material that moved even further from its roots. Some tracks found their way out of the studio in the form of MP3s and a low-key CD-R release, but the band waited until its new incarnation was fully formed before making a full-scale return with this album on Oakland's excellent n5MD label.

Everyone Looks Like Somebody Else bears evidence that these guys have used the time (kinda) off to bring thier sound and style to full maturity. The disc might come across at first as a collection of seemingly simple electronic ditties that are pleasant but somewhat innocuous. But if you play closer attention, the work starts to reveal a foundation of precise detail and structure that is rare in a scene overrun with bedroom musicians who record every mediocre blip and bleep that comes out of their laptop and post it to MP3.com. Yet despite this air of perfectionism, there is nothing even remotely academic or pretentious about ML or its music. It simply produces meticulously constructed and exceedingly high-quality electronic listening music that is a joy to listen to. seven

"everybody looks like somebody else" is a hard album to grasp. I've been listening to this disk on and off for quite a few weeks, trying to capture this "something" that would define ml's sound for me. it is a bit uneven in a sense that it lacks this distinct direction that attracted me to ml to begin with. maybe full-length album format is a bit too much for the band, or maybe my attention span is too short for the complexity of this album. maybe it is a bit overly "mechanical", meaning that it lingers too long on technical perfection, layering (with incredible precision and clarity, I should add) more and more sounds, forgetting to smooth it all out with more melodies or some kind of more lyrical foundation.

every single track has this unusual sound, that is not quite the rest of the idm scene (which, of course, is definitely a plus); first of all, the composition relies on meticulous complex sound arrangements with multiple elements layered in almost spontaneous way, following the main percussion lead; there seems to be multiple almost independently evolving streams of music, progressing in parallel. ml is particularly fond of bass-heavy crunchiness, this saturated sound that is heavily layered with noisier, abrasive percussion, complemented by multiple spontaneous noises, fleeting melodic elements, small compressed sounds weaved into these dense textures. this heaviness is less obvious as it is in rhythmic noise genre, but more of an overall feel of the album; not an ultimate goal, but more of a means for reaching it.

it is a hard album to get into, one needs to pay complete attention to the textures and all the intricacies, not forgetting to reserve some capacity for capturing overall flow of the music. I find it easier to enjoy second half of the album that appears to be less atonal, a bit smoother and still complex and multi-layered. listening to ml, I often find myself left behind, paying too much attention to unusual, unexpected sounds, lingering too long, while the rest of the track carries on. when I realize this, I have to hurriedly catch up, again and again, gradually losing my grasp on the music. I would recommend listening to this album a few tracks at the time, it really does begin to shine after a few listens. for anyone fond of spontaneity, heaviness, complexity, and yet requiring melody and flowing nature of music, combined in very unusual way, this is not an album to miss; just make sure you have a good set of headphones present. igloomag

Laird Sheldahl, Tanner Volz, and Rian Callahan, who make up the Northwest trio ML, began making music under the Industrial and Ethereal personality of Thine Eyes in the early ‘90s and released the critically acclaimed albums Christian Sex Loops and My Knobs Taste Funny on Doppler Effect Records. After a lengthy hiatus (or self-imposed anonymity), the trio emerged as ML, taking up residence at MP3.com to release their first two ML efforts Tiki and You Are Not My Dentist. Demonstrating a fresh electronic sound within (but not confined to) the IDM genre, the project injected their music with a welcomed sense of humor and an inventive take on the current electronic music formula. It wasn’t long before Seattle’s Toast and Jam Recordings released the excellent ML album Pajama Party on CDR. Unlike Thine Eyes, which leaned toward the Industrial side of things, ML instead explored the IDM genre further with an uncanny knack for originality. The programming on Pajama Party was really quite remarkable, with subtle, almost hidden harmonies, innovative beat structures, and a range of unique sounds including the clever use of flatulence on the track “Take That, Pants”.

True to form, the N5MD label made the wise decision to pick up ML’s next release Everyone Looks Like Somebody Else and add it to the label’s already remarkable catalog of original electronic artists. This makes the first CD release for the MiniDisc/Vinyl label n5MD and what a fitting first CD this is. Drawing on the influences of acts like Kettel, Spark, Twine, and EU, this album utilizes a huge array of strange sounds and electronic clicks and beeps to build intricate and enjoyable song structures of impeccable originality and skillful diversity. Tracks like “Sidedish”, “Sneakerwave”, “Flanklet”, “Quick Kit”, and “No Tradebacks” use a vast arrangement of spitting bleeps, jagged percussion, expert pattern changes, distant melodies, and seamless layering. Each song is diverse here, leaving ample room for side-door accessibility and brilliant miscellany, without disrupting the album’s flow or theme.

With each listen, the receptor of this unusual and accomplished work is sure to discover new sounds and patterns within each appealing tune, allowing repeat playability to proceed without question. With the walls of Intelligent Dance Music closing in slowly, ML’s Everyone Looks Like Somebody Else has managed to avoid the confines of the genre box and instead branches out on its own accord. With their miraculous mix of creativity, imagination, cleverness, and competent diversity, ML has produced one of the most promising and imaginative new electronic accomplishments of its time. e/i mag

Let's change that to Everyone Sounds Like Somebody Else. ML unintentionally xeroxes the oft-copied sounds of IDM's best and brightest, from the arty (Plaid and Mouse on Mars) to the abrasive (Autechre and Matmos). While the style might not be the most original, the trio-- from out of the ashes of neo-industrial darlings Thine Eyes-- uses familiar tools to build constructs as colorful and dazzling as a spirograph litho. "My Xmas Tree and Me" glides along, low on energy, alternating between slow tonal ballad and half-speed robofunk, composed of glassy percussion, rubbery bass, and something that could only be a synthetic approximation of a dog whistle. More cyberboogie abounds on "No ;) on the -)", which rips it's rhythmic sounds from R2D2's circuits and laces them with hiccuping vocal blips, while "Quick Kit" is a study in drum machine polyrhythms, twisting lines of metronomic clicks with steelpole snares, kicks and snaps, while synths add razorsharp edges to the faux-Boards of Canada preset. Moving beyond the pleasant Super 8 beat-riddled soundtrack feel of the rest of Everyone, "Engrailed" is darker and noisier, shot through with menacing drone and backwards keys, following a guttural rhythm whose sounds have origins more subterranean rather than out of beautiful places in the country. If imitation is the sinerest form of flattery, than the canon of electronica should regard ML's contribution as honest genuflection.