Minxus

Pabulum (Too Pure/American)
by Lex Marburger

So close… Minxus has a great combination of musicians, the kind of band I’d enjoy playing in, with fluid bass, creative drums and tasteful guitar blasts. On Pabulum (Too Pure/American), they create well-crafted songs with changes and flourishes enough so the tunes never get boring or stale. The music has an emotional quality rarely found in these alternative bands nowadays. They feel… like warm sandpaper (fine grain) when you take off your shoes on a summer’s day. Or like… gin and Kool-Aid, with enough ice to kill the pain.

The only problem I have is with the voice of one of the two singers. She has this whining, thin soprano that throws cold water on the forge of the musical smithy which is Minxus. The guy’s vocals fit the band better – gruff and empathy-soaked. However, when subjected to repeated listening, one tends to accept the squeaking, saccharine sound as another part of this difficult life we live and focus on the music which moves and swirls like sea monkeys in vodka.