Mr T Experience's best album yet! (Yesterday Rules - Mr T Experience)

Member Name: kylecoare

Product:	Yesterday Rules - Mr T Experience
Date:	14/03/04 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great music, Great vocals, even better lyrics

Disadvantages: Still unknown to most.

MR T EXPERIENCE (MTX) - YESTERDAY RULES
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Well as it seems im the only person on this site that knows this band, I think its my job to write the review of the new album, which was released a few weeks ago (13-1-04).

The first thing I should say is that, if you haven't already read my previous MTX reviews then you really should get over and check them out, so that you have a little knowledge about this almighty band.

Mr T Experience are a rock band, they formed in the mid 80's and were one of the leading pop punk bands at the time, they were one of the first bands to openly encourage a pop style in their music, which at the time with American punk bands was a major no-no, it was against the rules, well that didn't bother MTX frontman Dr Frank, in fact he was happy to take a pop side to his music.

Over the years this style of music started to break through from all the shouty punk types, and knowadays is more typical than the screaming anti pop types, this was partly down to this band and their friends, such as groups like Green Day.

Well the band released lots of albums which in a perfect world would have been top 10 contenders, yet we don't live in a perfect world and almost nobody has actually heard any of these masterpieces, instead people have taken to the bands which copied this style such as Bowling for soup and Good charlotte, although these copied the style they missed a major point in the music that it actually had to be quite good!

On the last MTX album 'ALCATRAZ' , we heard the band tone down the punk sound a little and it gave the music a new dimension, which was good, but could eas
ily be bettered.

Well that leads us up nicely to the most recent release, Yesterday rules.

This album sees the bands style again given a clean up, with new members in the band providing Dr Frank with an even tighter soundscape to provide his poetry over.

MEMBERS
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DR FRANK - VOCALS / GUITAR / SONGWRITER / Genius
TED ANGEL - GUITAR
BOBBY J - BASS
JYM - DRUMS

This album is the first to feature Ted and Bobby, with old bass player Joel going off to form his own band.

As with all MTX releases this is again produced by Kevin Army, a genius when it comes to punk music, as he knows just how to make a band sound like they are playing live, but still tight and controlled.

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THE ALBUM
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the album is 13 songs long and comes in at 40 minutes.

---She's not a flower---

The first thing I want to say is that this isn't a punk album, its more than that, this album cannot be pigeon holed in any category really, its just a great album, with more styles than id care to mention.

But this the first track is a punk tune, which will please the older fans, and show a lot of the newcomers how its done.

Opening with a fantastic riff which instantly draws you into the tune, this is the best way to start the album as it drags you into its own little world, and before you have a chance to escape your hooked.

Musically this could quite easily have fit on any of their previous albums, but that's not to say this is just anoth
er pop punk tune, in fact this is quite a new sound for the band, with a rawer yet at the same time more controlled sound.
The extra guitar adds a bit more depth to the tune.

Where this tune really sounds different to the previous outings is in the already fantastic vocals by Dr Frank, which if possible have improved even more over the past couple of years, this has to be heard really as it is almost impossible to describe how great this guys voice is on this sort of tune.

The production has also added an extra depth to this tune, which some cleverly placed sounds in the background and a nice echo effect on some of the vocals.

A great opener, which really makes you want to listen on.

---F**ked up on life---

Well after the punky blast of the last song its onto a more sublime little number, which trades the fast paced guitars for a more tuneful twiddly sound, and this really works.

With the guitars giving a nice backdrop the track is really left for the good doctor to use his vocals to give it that extra touch.

And again he doesn't disappoint, with some sublime vocals which make the last album sound poor in comparison.
The lyrics all have the trademark Dr Frank wit and humour whilst still sounding poetic and clever, like a punky modern day version of Morrisey but a lot better.

The music is so much better than on any of the previous albums that you really cant believe this is the same band, with so many different instruments and sounds it all makes a fantastic pop song.

---Just have some faith in me---

This is another nice piece of pop rock, with not a hint of punk anywhere, and it really works well.
The tune takes a simple route with a nice riff which draws you into the song, the drums are quite drawn back giving a nice backing track for Frank to again give us some nice vocals
.

The song has an almost churchly sound to it, with some nice choir type backing vocals, and whilst that may sound cheesy it really works well and is worth a listen.

---Big, strange, beautiful hammer---

This song is one of a few acoustic songs on the album, which all come from an ep that Dr Frank recorded last year as a taster, the song has been rerecorded since then and has a lovely soft sound that is as far from punk as you can get.

The music is very much in the singer/songwriter style with a very tuneful sound which really makes you feel at home and relaxed.

Again over the top of this we get Dr Frank providing us with his witty intelligent vocals in a style that really suits him well.

---Sorry for freaking out on the phone last night---

What has really surprised me about this album is just how good each song sounds, where the last album was great and almost every song was good, it really couldn't stand up against this, the band really has reached a different level with this release.

The songs all sound so well polished and well written.

This tune is another twiddly little number, with some nice fuzzy guitars playing just over in the distance, with the drums again being even further away.

Frank provides us with the story of a person that probably drank too much and freaks out on the phone to his girlfriend, a strange idea for a song, but it works so well you cant believe it hasn't been done a million times.

---The boyfriend box---

This song was a big surprise after the last few tunes, with its almost 60's surfy sound and psychedelic elements this takes us back to a time even before I was born, and it shows another string in the ever increasing bow of the MTX.

This is probably the worst song on offer, and it would quite easily beat most other
bands efforts that's how good this album sounds.

The music really takes us back a few years and makes a very good job of it.
Vocally this has a nice duel vocal with two people singing nearly all of the song, which again gives the band a different dimension.

---London---

This is a very dark number, which surprised me on first listen, and I wasn't sure I liked it, then I listened again a few more times and its worked its way up to being one of my favourite songs on the album.

With a very simple tune which is deep and gloomy, quite like London really!
This shows a sentimental side to Dr Frank which has been hidden beneath the surface and has burst out all over this song.

If you are going to try any song by this band id recommend this one as it will really make the airs stand up on the back of your neck, amazing.

---Elizabeth or fight---

Wow after the slow number we get a rocking tune which really brings you out of the dreamstate that you should be in after listening to the previous song.

This is a rocking track which is quite unlike any that I've heard, It has a different sound which is quite hard to put your finger on.

The vocals are just perfect, with Frank giving me another reason to call him the best vocalist that I've heard.

---Everybody knows you're crying---

This takes the band into singer/songwriter mode again and shows the enormous talent that they possess, whilst not quite being up with the standard of the rest of the album, this is still a worthwhile tune.

Musically this is quite a simple little twiddly number, with a nice beat and some nice backing vocals.

Vocally this isn't Franks best performance but after so many great tunes you can let one or two off.

---Jill---

T
;his is another of the acoustic tunes, and sounds quite like a country song, whilst still having its own MTX sound to it.

This is a nice tune to just play in the background, you can just relax to it.

The vocals give a feeling that Frank has been hurt by someone, he really has a great talent to put his feelings into a song.

---Shining---

This just cant be pigeon holed, this is rock, but it isn't like anything I've heard, the closest thing i can thing at the minute is that song by Franz Ferdinand which got to number 2 in the charts.

But this isn't really even like that, in fact this is its own unique song which has a touch of all rock styles I've heard.

The vocals are fast paced and show that Frank still has that ability to give lyrics at a great pace.

The music flows over a riff which just digs deep into your brain and doesn't give in, this song will just stay in you're head for days after you've heard it.

---Institutionalised misogyny---

This was the first song id heard from the album, as it was originally recorded for the ep that i mentioned earlier, and at the time i thought it was a great acoustic type tune, well it still is but being placed into this album it doesn't really compare.

That just shows the quality of the other songs on offer, although this is a fantastic tune which would make most bands wet themselves with excitement it just isn't as good as some of the other material here.

Lyrically this is very clever, and shows quite how intelligent Frank is.

---take all the time you need---

To end the album we have another slowish rock tune, which has a great little chorus, some very clever little hooks and catchy guitars.

This really ends the album on a high and makes you want to play the whole thi
ng over again, which is what im gonna do!

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OVERALL
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The cd is also one of those enhanced little jobbies, so you can place it in your computers cd and find out lots of other little things, such as lyrics and how to play the songs on guitar.
There is also an extensive selection of articles written by Dr Frank from his web Blog site.

Well what can i say, buy this album.
If your local record store hasn't got it, ask them to order it you will not be disappointed.
If your record store wont order it then get over to the website and order it from there, just make sure you get it.

Mr T Experience haven't stuck with a specific genre instead they have gone and created their own which will from now on be known as MTXstyle.

Once you've bought this album id recommend you try some of the earlier releases but be warned none of them are quite as good as this!

Check out the websites

www.lookoutrecords.com
www.themrtexperience.com

Thanks for reading.
Kyle

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