MAH KEE OH grows emotional experimental heaviness on "Dogfood" (Album Review)

 

"roll the good stuff, twist my brain up"

There is an all encompassing wall of emotional sound on MAH KEE OH's pushed rock lo-fi indie "Twist" from the 2021 album "Dogfood" (via Toronto based Cooked Raw label). Double time drums with shifting dynamics, staccato chunky guitar down strikes, stair stepping piano lines and Grahm Robinson's hushed vox burning into what feels like a sort of grunge tinged sad core sound like an amalgam of Elliot Smith, Pavement, Pink Floyd, Sparklehorse or maybe Deerhoof on a barbiturate drip. MAH KEE OH is the absolutely engaging solo recording project of Dallas Texas based (aforementioned) multi-instrumentalist Grahm Robinson (Teeth, Grisman) whose forte is recording his exquisite compositions in analog fashion, a production technique where he for the most part uses only 3 microphones and a 4 track cassette recorder. To the youngsters reading this, a cassette tape is.... aww, never mind. 

The tracks on "Dogfood" feel experimental and devoid of a lot of the tropey things happening in of today's music spaces. There is a sense of nostalgia though of sounds that might pierce 70's, 80's and 90's textures like the plodding teen zombie grunge sensation on songs like "Feelin Good" with some sort of particular Cobain-esque guitar bend affections or the dingy slow mosh of "Not Sick" (love the warehouse dark feel) or "Maxine" that might have tinges of Weezer within the grunge garage rock feel. Other songs veer into psychedelia like the cyclical dark metal spiral of "Index" or the beautiful sad core ennui of "Drip" (so easy to get lost in) and the spartan elegant ascension of "Be My Side" (Without You) with truly pretty vocal and musical layers full of emotions all spaced out behind an upfront drum beat (brilliant). 

"Dogfood", the title track, with it's multi-sphered melodic hinges that mirror the vocal melody is a stand out track. The thick lush electric guitar, heavy and forlorn, double dissonance and lead line dreaminess makes me think of Built To Spill (wow). The singularly purely beautiful crush of "Float" with a maybe more naked vocal presentation slowly swells like a painful slow dance embrace. The final track, "Falling", full of stair stepping notes and a constant guitar note anchoring the emotional fray, "when you look at me i can hardly breathe", eventually breaks down, falls apart only leaving a loop of oscillating pulses and then a hiss. 

"Dogfood" (the album) is stunner bathed in a caustic wash of sadcore but not in a totally sadcore way. It feels to me like the thematic bends here grew out of the emotional tenure of each track as crafted or grown out of experimentation. At least that is my sense, especially given that the lyrical content within each soundscape is pretty minimal. Minimal does not mean emotionally light but quite the opposite. The atmosphere in total, within each song and collectively, is heavy and I love that. The songs here do push emotional buttons and will, undoubtedly, steer your mind to unexpected places. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

MAH KEE OH · Twist

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MAH KEE OH is the solo recording project of multi-instrumentalist Grahm Robinson from Dallas, TX. Grahm is also a contributing member of the bands Teethe, and Crisman (Topshelf Records). Grahm is known for his unique analog recording and production techniques in which he predominantly uses only 3 microphones and a 4-track cassette recorder.

Mah Kee Oh, indie rock, post punk, Lo-fi Rock, Indie Rock, Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop. Dallas Texas, solo project, Grahm Robinson, artful, grunge slowcore tones