"With Arrows, With Poise" by The Myriad

I'm reaching way back into my vault of music for this one. I first came across this album three years ago, bought it for the album artwork, and listened to it a ton only to forget about it later (that's the problem with a music addiction folks, sometimes it results in music ADD). Then, a couple days ago, I rediscovered it, and have since been listening to it repeatedly.

The album is "With Arrows, With Poise" by The Myriad. I went to investigate why they haven't released any new music and found out that the band's drummer tragically passed away after a fight with cancer. The band's music still lives on, however, and for that I'm glad.

There is an undercurrent of darkness to the whole album, a sort of quiet urgency that wouldn't be out of place in a movie scene (imagine the protagonists hiding, fleeing from some shady foe that don't really see or understand). It makes for some pretty powerful music (and though the band is known as a Christian band, these songs are by no means limited in their appeal to music listeners of all creeds). The lyrics are dark, reflective, and earnestly delivered by a frontman with a great voice and a solid falsetto.

The choruses on this album are what makes it special. They're just flat out catchy; in fact, all of these songs are really easy to sing along with. And with some of the awesome song titles on this album (examples are "You Waste Time Like a Grandfather Clock," "Don't Let Them See You!," and "Polar Bears and Shark Fins," you'll want to).

The final piece of this puzzle is this music, a polished but gritty and dark set of well-executed songs and riffs that inspire some definite head bobbing. This album is just plain good.

My three favorite songs on the album are "A Clean Shot," "A Thousand Winters Melting" (one of my all time top 20 favorite songs), and "Don't Let Them See You!".

Here's a link to the band's Myspace, which is still up and running (but it's a little eerie; to be honest, it's a bit like being in a Myspace ghost-town).

http://www.myspace.com/themyriad

Until next time, enjoy the music!

Andrew