Artist Info:Discography Album length: 11 tracks: 37 minutes, 49 seconds Street Date: June 14, 2005
The revival of 80s alternative music has hit the
mainstream market like a flood, with bands such as The
Muse, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and Modest Mouse
becoming huge successes. So it was only a matter of
time before the popularity of this new indie sound
spilled over into the Christian market. The Myriad is
one of the bands that are leading the charge of this
new popular sound onto the Christian music scene,
creating a sound that fuses indie with progressive
rock.
The Myriad’s ethereal sound starts with
vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Edwardson, whose sounds like
Matthew Bellamy (Muse) meets Josh Homme (Queens of
the Stone Age), and ends up being haunting yet
melodic. In fact, at times the band sounds like
Queens of the Stone Age with toned down guitars and
more amplified keyboards. Strangely, however, when
the band moves into their acoustic and piano driven
ballads, they end up sounding somewhat like Switchfoot
and Coldplay. The group doesn’t break any new ground
musically, sharing many similarities with Muse and
Radiohead, and they seem to struggle to find their own
sound at the beginning of the album. However, as the
album progresses, the band is able to more readily
define themselves and find their musical footing.
The heavier songs on the album are solid, but nothing
spectacular. The guitars and bass on songs such as
“Stretched,” “Tethered” and “Nothing Is Safe” have the
same dirty tone, leaving it up to the synthesizer to
give some individuality to each song. It’s the
mellower, acoustic ballads where this band seems to
find their niche. The Myriad doesn’t put their sound in
a box as much on tracks such as “The Last Time” and “A
New Language,” allowing themselves to hang loose and
give the songs a more complete sound. In fact, the
best song on the album is the last track, “We Will Be
Disappointed Together,” a ballad that has more
emotion and build than any other song on the record.
Lyrically, the band showcases its ability to write
well thought out songs, but sometimes they come off a
little vague. For example, in “10,000 x 10,000”
Edwardson sings “And I’ve given all I have/ I’ve given
my whole soul/ I’m ready to go.” It’s tough to tell
here whether he is discussing giving up or having
poured his whole life into something great. Yet on
“The Last Time,” the band makes a very clear
statement: “How can we risk not knowing the end of
night/ in the hour of longing, we will spark a myriad
of lights.”
The Myriad have created an album that should make some
noise in the Christian industry. However, one has to
wonder if this band, as well as other artists from the
same genre, will be able to morph their sound when the
indie fad inevitably dies out. Nonetheless, this is a
strong freshman effort from a young band on the rise.
- Review date: 6/19/05, written by Jason Ingersoll
Artist Info: 
