Masters of the Hemisphere

by Joey Sweeney

Masters of the Hemisphere
Protest a Dark Anniversary
KINDERCORE

It's a well-acknowledged tenet of latter-day indie-pop that, in some subsets, infantilism is not only embraced but egged on. The rub is that while the subject of innocence lost or gained is one that hits at the very heart of what indie-pop is about (crushes, boys, girls), a band can go overboard with the kid stuff, and wind up in some murky musical waters. Worse still, they can even be reviled for it. Such is the case with the last album by Masters of the Hemisphere, I Am Not a Freemdoom. An entire song cycle devoted to the exploration of a fictional comic book hero invented by the band--and sung partly in the language they made up for the characters--Freemdoom might have been catchy, but it was as geeky as a set of 18-sided dice and a bookshelf full of role-playing books. The crime in all this is that the record also obscured the Athens, Ga., band's considerable talents for writing songs about and for actual people. Too long in coming, Protest a Dark Anniversary does its level best to rectify matters, and gets tons done. While it's true that the Masters employ a set of textbook indie-boy moves--uptight high-hat drums, tentative vocals and station wagon harmonies--this belies the other stuff that's going on here. "Local Government" squeezes real longing into a brief reverie of driving around the deserted business section of a midsize city while "Take Time" employs a Salvation Army horn section with real bounce and swing. Elsewhere, the band even delves into real-time adult pathos, and every once in a while--more than you think, but less than you'd hope for--emerges with the confidence they might have had a lot earlier if only they hadn't spent so much time playing D&D in the basement. B-
Masters of the Hemisphere will play Sun., May 5. With Snow Fairies + Hallelujah. 7pm. $7. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave. 267.671.9298. www.iourecords.com.