Who says guitar rock is dead?

by Jake TenPas, OSU Daily Barometer, 5/18/01

On their long-awaited new album, Dark Lit, local power trio Minus does much to negate the assertation that the classic rock of the '60s, '70s and '80s left the guitar without further avenues of exploration.

Mark France coaxes tones both subtle and overt out of his customized Frankenstein of a guitar. He demonstrates in the process how much the rock canon has been excluded over the years by rejecting the influences that progressive rock, fusion and the avant garde sought to incorporate

Additionally, the band as a whole does an incredible job of reminding listeners that the original melody isn't a moot point.

Of course, most of these songs won't be anything new to regulars of Minus' scorching and sometimes polarizing live sets, but each tune is given new texture and context through bassist Dave Trenkel and France's stellar production.

So despite the fact that a song like "Stoner" has been distilled to its absolute essence throught the process of playing it night after night, here it is presented in its full majesty.

What starts as a spacey paean to Adrianne Sherwood's dub bliss then morphs into a hard driving, funkadelic-esque rocker, with the spirit of Bernie Worrel fully present in Trenkel's deft and often unexpected keyboard flourishes. Eventually, a pretty, partly vocalized melody emerges from the slashing riffs, and all the while stalwart drummer Henry Franzoni keeps the procession of disparate musical ideas marching crisply along.

This is music all-consuming in its beauty and power, and not to be missed either as studio product or live shenanigans. In celebration of the release of Dark Lit, Minus will be playing at Squirrels on Saturday, May 19 at 9pm, with special guests. Miss it at your own peril.

Jake Tenpas is a music criticfor the daily barometer. He can be reached at jaketenpas@yahoo.com