Record #312: MiniBoone’s ‘Big Changes’
Big Changes is the January release from New York’s manic indie-rock outfit MiniBoone. Here MiniBoone do occasionally show their youth with indecisive arrangements and revelatory lyrics that exude angsty wallflower thoughtfulness — you know, verbose, overzealous metaphors a la Say Anything (the band, not the movie … unfortunately). They are, however, very gifted, ambitious players and writers that execute big ideas with hints of smart influence. The organ blasts on “I Need” bring to mind Elvis Costello — though the guitar solo feels slightly out of place. Stop-and-go progressions, varied instrumentation, noodly, frenetic guitars and vocal harmonies are mildly reminiscent of Talking Heads and Devo. This is certainly an impressive debut with great sounds and very unique ideas, though I think with a bit of maturation, MiniBoone will prove more impressive down the road.
