It’s a curious thing, a thin thread to traverse. Some bands can sound like they are from a particular school, a style or influence coloring their music; yet possess one crucial idiosyncratic quality or attribute that spins their music off into multiple possibilities. Messer is one of those bands. The hard rock outfit out of Texas has a little over ten years together but success and increasing recognition has always accompanied them. Their new single “Unfvckwitable” is a big step down the road for the band and a fuller realization of their potential than seemed possible on their debut release.
URL: https://www.messerband.com/
Their ability to flex considerable musical muscle while serving up an airy and widescreen musical arrangement impresses me. There’s no hint of strain in the band’s sound, as if nailing these multiple goals poses a challenge, and Chad Gendason’s full-bodied production leaves nothing unattended. Messer, like any great rock band, understands the value of dynamics and “Unfvckwitable” demonstrates their mastery while exploiting the track’s rousing qualities.
Messer’s talent for writing convincing anthems is absolute. The exultant and swelling characteristics of the band’s music are dramatic, yes, but I always hear a steady hand measuring their effect. Nothing is rushed. Messer orchestrates the song in a series of near-movements without ever leaving glaring tape holding the song’s disparate sections together. It sounds like a song that emerged more or less as we hear it hear, certainly less grander, but already in near final form.
There’s nothing fancy about the subject matter. It’s the necessity of cultivating an indomitable spirit in challenging times, the value of refusing to accept defeat, the need to keep pushing on. Messer’s lines are succinct, to the point, but there’s an intelligent thread running through it that listeners of any stripe can latch onto. Structuring the words as they do with restrained verses crashing into full-on explosions of music highlights the in-your-face way they want listeners to face the subject.
The video for the song is superb. Messer worked with director Matthew JC and 1307 Productions, their relationship extending back to prior releases, and the creative partnership pays off once again. The clip is the sort any band, A-listers too, would be proud to put their name on. It is an arch-traditional clip, in some ways, as it portrays the band performing for the camera and there’s zero “story” at all. However, the sleek and stylish manner of its presentation sets it apart.
SMART URL: https://messer.ffm.to/unfvckwitable
There is some particularly potent lead guitar in the song’s second half. Long guitar solos aren’t what this band’s music is about, but instead dramatics with real emotion underlying the songwriting is the general goal. It is interesting that music sounding so grandiose, in a superficial way, lacks any self-indulgence whatsoever and instead hones it on its benchmarks and clears them with room to spare. Messer’s new single “Unfvckwitable” will definitely open new doors for this talented band but you get the feeling even listening to this outstanding song that they’ve barely scratched the surface of their skills.
Troy Johnstone