The First Lessons in New Era Time... by Meisha

It moves between the extremes of thick tone drones to intricate shimmering guitar lines and explores the area between the two in great depth.

This is their third album, and it follows logically behind the last two. The dueling arpeggiated guitars that so easily invite comparisons to Steve Reich seem to have become a method of writing they have become more comfortable with, as they have less immediacy and a good deal of patience. The result is expansive songs, which can slowly move from a pop structured mish mash of picked guitar to a heavily layered collage of tones.

The intricate side is developed further in a similar way. The bass carries a good portion of the harmonic and melodic weight, allowing the guitars more room to step forward and back in their repetition, rhythm, and melodies. The drones also have a well defined sense of space, which pursue ideas and explore loops at length without losing sight of the overall aesthetic in the process. Meisha certainly haven't reinvented themselves (or even really changed how they approach things much), but they have developed their sense of self to a very pleasing end...11" (out of 12) -- fakejazz.com

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"The music begins so softly, so subtly that it sneaks up on you like a hesitant lover; filled with passion and ready to burst, hands shaking with barely suppressed energy, the anticipation so sweet it's almost deadly. Softly strummed guitar reverberations thread through gently soaring notes that seem to sustain their wavering, haunting beauty to near eternity. Dreamy soundscapes of floating ambient feedback hover in the air, just a magic breath away, always an inch beyond your fingertips. There are lovely strains of near-trance-like folk wanderings, which sometimes recall early Durutti Column in their aspirations of transcendence through tranquil simplicity. There are bizarre moments of cave-like ambient/electronic/guitar exploration-exploring side tunnels like electric current flashing off octopus tentacles, soft voltage flows careening off the walls in blue-light arcs, seeking the soul of early Pink Floyd acid jams. While most of the music here leans toward the understated, there is a consistently delicate hint of ever-present tension and mystery, yielding a sound not unlike some bands on Chicago's highly regarded Kranky label...7" (out of 10) --Charlie Quaker

"...this release will conclude Meisha phase 1 of recorded material. recorded at the same time as returns/forever... triumph has never felt like this before..." --Mass Transfer

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