MILLENARY
"High Energy"
Fans of garage-rock rejoice: East Lansing’s own Millenary have dropped "High Energy," (the title a possible nod to the Stooges’ 1973 garage classic "Raw Power" ) a precocious, bipolar debut that combines fast, sloppy rock numbers with beautiful balladry. "Go!," the explosive opening track, combines the proto-punk guitar assault of the Stooges and the MC5 with a skittering drum loop plundered from Devo’s "Whip It." The rocking continues for the next three tracks, coming to an angry head on the snarling standout "Girl, You Need A Personality." But just when it looks like Millenary is all spite and abrasiveness, they turn the decibels down and the distortion off. "Serious" is a lovely acoustic ballad, featuring violin accompaniment and dreamy, gorgeous vocals from lead singer Sarah Stollak. The stripped-down sound continues on the country-tinged "The Candle Tree" and throughout much of the rest of the album, before returning to up-tempo garage-punk on "It’s Too Much" and the blistering instrumental "It’ll Just Take A Minute." While the production at times is a bit rustic and the lyrics occasionally leave something to be desired, Millenary has nonetheless created an excellent debut that does East Lansing proud.