| Mazarin - We're Already There |
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| Written by Glen Sarvady | |
 MazarinWe're Already There [I and Ear] Get it at Amazon  Mazarin is one of those bands that received a premature jolt of notoriety when much-missed BBC DJ John Peel lost his shit over early tracks like "Wheats" and "Deed to Drugs," which could easily have been mistaken for the output of mid-'90s indie England. Since then the Philadelphia band has seemingly courted a niche outside the limelight. Its gauzy, up-and-down debut was followed by the brilliant A Tall-Tale Storyline, which found Mazarin stretching its sound into hypnotic drones interspersed with instrumental homages to iconoclastic guitar whiz John Fahey. A tough record to categorize under the best of circumstances, Storyline's prospects were further narrowed by hitting stores just a week before the September 11 tragedy. After a four year vanishing act, Mazarin surfaces with the more inviting We're Already There, dispensing its dreampop charms in concise, listener-friendly packets. It's reminiscent of the way UK shoegazers Ride brightened the corners for their pop gem Going Blank Again, or how early-'90s US wunderkind Unrest mined the British art-pop landscape and found nirvana through repetition. Leader Quentin Stolzfus, a Texas native from a lapsed Amish family (and with a full beard befitting his heritage), has found an assured voice and seems more upbeat than the guy who once titled a song "Suicide Will Make You Happy." His lyrics rarely get more confrontational than "I'd rather sleep alone tonight, if that's alright with you." But one thing the Amish and indie rockers have in common is an antipathy for war, and Stolzfus channels his venom into the stunning opener "The New American Apathy," which goes down deceptively sweetly amidst chiming guitars and a pulsing drumbox. He quickly follows with the ebullient burst of "For Energy Infinite," on which Stolzfus confidently declares, "I love you too, as I love everyone." We're Already There extends Mazarin's penchant for weaving in bells to evoke a mystical Eastern vibe (another Unrest trick), but somehow the band pulls this off without sacrificing its newfound tightness or melodic directness. Not until the trippy closing title track does Stolzfus fully let his freak flag fly. He enlists Philly pal and fellow shoegazer fetishist Kurt Heasley (of Lilys semi-fame) for several tracks, but remarkably the My Bloody Valentine-esque rave-up "I'm With You and the Constellations" is not among them. The disc only falters on its two instrumentals, both of which feel like underbaked jams -- a surprising twist given Mazarin's way with lock-groove bliss-outs. On the gorgeous solo turn "Louise" Stolzfus laments, "And I know this will linger in obscurity." Well, maybe -- but it shouldn't. |
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