Mason Proper

Shorthand EP

(Dovecote)

Record Review by Amber Henson

Reviewing music is teaching me a lot about how much I judge.  A couple reviews ago I learned to not judge a band by its MySpace page, now I’m learning not to judge a band by its album cover.  Normally, I wouldn’t go for a band that has chosen a man with a blank face with a checkboard covering of ants on it, much the same way I wouldn’t choose a book to read with a man’s rippling chest on it.

Apparently, though, it’s my duty to judge a band by its sound (who knew?!) so let’s see how that goes.

Mason Proper at first reminded me of the first band that I reviewed here on The Red Alert, Electric President, ‘cause I somehow got the false impression it was just two guys.  Not the case.  But that comparison came in handy because I started to hear quite a few similarities. The paranoia that is expressed in Electric President’s debut album is evident, as is the self-mutilation.

Unlike those Presidents, though, they’re much less synthy and more about the guitar pedal junkie scene.  They’re definitely a lot more screamy, and with more anger. There’s only four songs on the EP, but you can get a pretty clear image of who this band is.  They’re definitely putting their all into this work, and these are some smart guys, with smart lyrics.  Jonathan Visger sings through a filter on a couple of songs, ala The Strokes. Remember the first time you heard The Strokes, when your friend played them for you and you wanted to ask “Does he sing through a filter or something?” but you didn’t want to seem like a dweeb, so you just never asked and instead said “Yeah, that’s cool”?  (He does, doesn’t he?  Now I’m the dweeb).

Mason Proper has put forth a clever album of angry shoegazer songs, and it would be well worth it for you not to judge too much, especially when a new full length album of theirs comes out this September.