Artist of the Day: Maybeshewill

Esteemed German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche wrote of music that it "has no need at all of images and concepts but merely tolerates them as accompaniment." The message distilled: lyrics are fine, but the music is the most potent part of any composition. Maybeshewill, one of the finest post-rock outfits to come out of the United Kingdom, seem to have taken Nietzche's analysis to heart. While most post-rock is characterized by painstakingly arranged harmonies with unique instruments- such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor's experiments with the french horn- Maybeshewill's music is a veritable cacophony of typical rock instruments by comparison.

The impact of Maybeshewill's music, no matter how noisy, is still as great as any lineup of violins et al. On songs like "We Called for an Ambulance but a Fire Engine Came" the group displays some of its hard rock sensibilities and influences but the music never becomes overbearing: even the heavy cymbal hits are done with a certain amount of class. Some songs may fringe on generic, the first minute of "This Time Last Year" would be a pretty standard blink-182 riff, but the group always finds ways to remain creative- such as introduction of a piano and, most likely, creatively placed drum fills and rhythm changes. But, perhaps the most unique part of the group is their use of sampling which was used to great effect on their magnum-opus Sing the Word Hope in Four Part Harmony. Post-rock may not totally reject vocals but the use of sampling, especially from films such as "I Heart Huckabees," is rarely heard in post-rock music. In the case of Maybeshewill, the creative placement of these samples is easily tolerated by the music and, although they may not be the most unique or esteemed post-rock group, Maybeshewill always provides a fun and accessible listen: especially for those who are casual fans of the genre.

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