Passion. Irony. Weirdness. Melody. These are some of the core elements of The Melismatics’ sound that has been developed over the past decade through intense recording, heavy touring, and an inhuman intake of caffeinated beverages. With six albums under their belt thus far, The Melismatics have been constantly evolving their own stylings of post-punk and indie-rock. Their latest release “Rising Tide” (Available 10-01-13 on Pravda Records) is a concept album that follows the life of a 21st Century man through birth, high expectations, loss, social exile, and redemption. This record explores new musical territory for the band, illuminating previously less-apparent influences like Brian Wilson and EDM. Jon Auer of The Posies and Big Star produced 7 of the tracks on “Rising Tide,” while Melismatics founder Ryan Smith handled production duties on 4 songs, including the title track.
At the center of The Melismatics sound are the duo lead vocals of husband/wife team of Ryan and Pony Smith. Ryan is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist, and the primary songwriter for The Melismatics. Pony is an intense and flamboyant performer who was raised by deaf parents, which may have led to her extensive use of histrionics onstage. Mark Wade is the backbone of the group with his angular bass lines and rugged good looks, which often get him mistaken for David Duchovny. Ron Caron is quite literally the heartbeat of the group with his creative drumming that make it nearly impossible to not “get up and shake it.”
The Melismatics’ live show has become known for its extremely high energy and infectious passion that has been responsible for connecting the band with many of the stellar people they’ve had the pleasure of working with throughout the years. Back in 2003 Minneapolis indie-rock king pin Ed Ackerson (Motion City Sountrack, The Replacements, The Jayhawks) signed the band to Susstones Records and produced their next two albums “New Infection” and “Turn It On.” Renowned producer John Fields caught the band performing at 2007 SXSW in Austin, Texas and signed on to produce “The Acid Test” (CC Entertainment/E1 Music 2008) as well as mix “MANIA!” (Pravda Records 2012) and “Rising Tide.” Ryan collaborated with Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Adele) on the track “Out Of Your Mind,” from “MANIA!” which received airplay on the legendary LA station KROQ.
Chances are, you can hear The Melisamtics on a TV near you. They have had their music featured on many programs including MTV’s “The Hills,” “The City,” , “Latisse“, “Laguna Beach,” “Friendzone,” Punkd,” NBC’s “Windfall,” Animal Planet’s “Jockeys,” TeenNick’s “Degrassi,”and they’ve played such notable events as Lollapalooza, Summerfest, and CMJ. Someday, they may be sleeping on YOUR couch.
