Book ended by two lengthy tracks that both clock in at over eight minutes – closing track "Ride the Lightning" even surpasses the eleven minute mark – Minmae's new album 835 covers a lot of ground with its fourteen tracks and seventy minutes.
In similar fashion to the lengthy opener of the group's last album Le Grand Essor De La Maison Du Monstre, the opening track of 835, "Pay More" showcases Minmae's ability to slowly build a track by gradually adding layer upon layer of sound. "Pay More", however, never seems to reach the same energy level of the previous album's opener and in this way, to continue the Sonic Youth-related tangents I began in my review of their last album, 835 is like A Thousand Leaves, a great album that opens with a track that leaves you scratching your head and hitting the skip button.
Fortunately, the rest of 835 will have you just sitting back and enjoying the music. The second track, "Your Band Controls the Weather", is one of the strongest on the album and in its second half features a perfectly executed blend of clean guitar, a slightly spooky sounding keyboard line, and static noise along with Sean Brooks’ incredibly inviting relaxed vocals.
Throughout the remaining tracks, Minmae keep things fresh by bringing in a variety of instrumentation, guitar tones that range from subdued and clean to aggressive and fuzzy, and a full range of dynamics before closing out with the extended closing track "Ride the Lightning" which, like the opener slowly develops layer by layer.