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Mêlée: Devils & Angels

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Warner Bros. Records
Released: 2007.03.05
Time:
 45:20
Category: Indie Rock
Producer(s): Howard Benson
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.meleerocks.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2015
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Built to Last (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:41
[2] Rhythm Of Rain (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:41
[3] Frequently Baby (She's a Teenage Maniac) (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 2:51
[4] For a Lifetime (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:41
[5] Drive Away (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:20
[6] Can't Hold On (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 4:39
[7] Imitation (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:33
[8] Love Carries On (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:12
[9] She's Gonna Find Me Here (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:38
[10] Biggest Mistake (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 2:41
[11] You Got (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:08
[12] Stand Up (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 4:11
[13] You Make My Dreams [Hall & Oates cover] (Ch.Cron/R.Sans) - 3:02

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Ricky Sans – Guitar, Arranger, Vocals
Chris Cron – Guitar, Piano, Arranger, Vocals
Ryan Malloy – Bass, Arranger, Vocals
Mike Nader – Arranger, Drums, Vocals

Howard Benson – Keyboards, Programming, Producer
Lenny Castro – Percussion

Jeremy Barnett – Background Vocals
Karen Cron – Background Vocals
Lina Kumon – Background Vocals
Holly Palmer – Background Vocals

Mike Plotnikoff – Engineer
Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – Assistant Engineer
Paul Decarli – Digital Editing
Mark O'Donoughue – Mixing
Tim Palmer – Mixing
Cindi Peters – Mixing Coordinator
Jamie Seyberth – Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
Brian "Big Bass" Gardener – Mastering
Craig Aaronson – A&R
Frank Maddocks – Design, Creative Director
Jon Nicholson – Drum Technician
Derrick Santini – Photography
Adam Schlesinger – Arranger, Pre-Production
Marc Vangool – Guitar Technician
Phil X – Guitar

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Melee broke into the scene back in mid-2004 with their full-length for Sub City Records, Everyday Behavior. They developed a strong underground following with the underrated release, and soon caught the eye of Warner Brothers Records, who picked them up and enabled them to pair with Howard Benson in the studio for their sophomore album, Devils & Angels. With Everyday Behavior, the music tended more toward indie-pop, just lacking a little bit of accessibility and tighter songwriting that could have broken the album into the mainstream. Instead, fans have waited with bated breath for almost three years to see just how Melee would mature, and if the band could claim its place alongside contemporary music's heavy hitters.

With a transparent opener in "Built to Last," listeners notice the vibrant guitar wails amid the soothing croon of lead singer Chris Cron. The band chose "Built to Last" as their lead single, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it appear in some TV shows in the future; it has a warming quality about it that would perfectly fit the introspective scenes seen on shows such as Scrubs. "Rhythm of Rain" pulls off something rather difficult in music; Melee have crafted a song that reflects the subject matter, a drizzling ballad of hope and imagination. Devils & Angels features a plethora of piano, although some of the songs do blur together at times. "Drive Away" and "Love Carries On" are two that seem to fall a little short of the mark. Both are borderline cheesy lyrically, and seem to serve as filler on the album. They deal with similar themes and both aim for the element of nostalgia that seems to permeate the album like the smell of strong cologne. It happens to be a bit much at times, but when the melancholy carries over to some of the other songs, it begins to hit home.

"Imitation" is one such example, replete with dance-happy riffs and Cron's soulful wails. Just when you expect another wistful ballad, the band kicks it up a notch with a punchy ballad. Sure, it doesn't sound like much of a change, but the upbeat tracks such as the exuberant and amusing "Biggest Mistake" or the bubbly "Frequently Baby" build the foundation of the critical praise of Devils & Angels. One of the things that makes Melee such a fascinating listen from start to finish is that they are willing to include a cover song from a band with which a vast majority of their listeners will be unfamiliar. They take a stab at the 1980 hit single from pop-soul standouts Hall & Oates, "You Make My Dreams," as a hidden track. Melee does not put a new spin on the song, choosing to be faithful to the original, but in the overall scheme of the album it proves a very fitting inclusion. The unfortunate part is that as a hidden track, it will get overlooked by many who are victims of the generation gap and have never had a chance to listen to Hall & Oates in the first place. Oh well, their loss is your gain.

In the end, what proves most striking about Devils & Angels is its execution. Longtime fans will note the crisp production from mega-producer Howard Benson and structural advances on the songwriting end of things. Newcomers to the band will find a worthy piano-rock album with an infusion of soul that bridges the gap between underground acclaim and the mainstream radio charts. Overall, some songs feel overly watered down, but that's to be expected on a piano-based record like this, and it does also negatively affect the overall composure of the album. Regardless, Melee's upside is bright indeed, as they endeavor to build from this major label debut. Devils & Angels is as the title implies—a struggle between radio slavery and creative growth; ultimately, it appears that the band has put some hair on their chests with the release, and is well on their way to being a force to be reckoned with. If you're looking for an album that might fall under "guilty pleasure" but at the same time can serve as a bright and uplifting spring album, look no further than Melee's newest effort. It feels like it has been a long time coming.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Tony Pascarella - www.absolutepunk.net



A name like Mêlée - with all its complicated diacritics, with its suggestion of violence - suggests that this Orange County quartet is standard-issue modern punk, perhaps even being a band that tends toward the harder, brutal side of things. Names can be deceiving, however, since their 2007 major-label debut, Devils & Angels, is something entirely unexpected: a genuine pop album, one that's informed by new wave but winds up sounding like a good rock record from 1985. Much of this sounds learned second-hand from Ben Folds but Mêlée is notably lacking in Folds' perma-smirk. Even the cover of Hall & Oates' classic "You Make My Dreams" is done sans irony: unlike many punk covers, this is a celebration of song, not cheese. If Chris Cron, like many of his peers, has a voice that's a bit too thin to be memorably on its own accord, it works well with the band's exuberant feel and it delivers the hooks simply and cleanly. Plus, they have a way with hooks, particularly on the exhilarating "Frequently Baby (She's a Teenager Maniac)," which would be a smash at any time there was either pop radio or MTV. It may be the best moment here, but the rest of Devils & Angels proves that it's no fluke as it showcases the rare punk-pop band that places a greater emphasis on pop than punk to often addictive results.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide



Melee is a piano-based pop rock group from Orange County, California. They first came onto the music scene with their debut album Everyday Behavior, released in 2004 to not an awful lot of attention around the US. The punkier sound of Everyday Behavior sounded as if the band had yet to fully mature, appearing to be just another poor indie pop band. Even though the weaker aspects of the band bled all over Everyday Behavior, there some strong indications of what would come with their next release. In Devils & Angels Melee reveals their matured sound, incorporating more atmospheric feelings into the music while still churning some upbeat, poppy tracks. The immature, unpolished works that their debut album was stricken with are now gone, being replaced by genuine pop rock tracks that distinctly show what Melee is capable of.

The lead single Built To Last shows the new sound of the band, with a removal of any punk influences. The guitars are no longer a forefront with the piano blending in the rest of the music, they now all mix together to create a type of “warm, fuzzy feeling” song that does not disappoint. Even at times when guitarist Ricky Sans puts in a lead, the smooth tone instead adds to the mood of the song rather than stick out like a sore thumb. One of the more piano based songs, For a Lifetime continues to carry on the sound that was made clear with the lead single. The band all combines as a whole for most of the album, with each instrument making its contribution. Even the bouncy, upbeat Frequently Baby makes full use of everything the band has to offer in order to create the ‘good times’ feeling of the track.

But with this mixture of all instruments, it may seem as if everything blends in too often, and instead never gives a particular member a time to take their lead in driving a song. Fortunately, that is not the case, with the guitar driven songs Rhythm of Rain and Drive Away being just as strong as their piano counterparts, with Drive Away having a particularly powerful chorus that was crafted perfectly through the buildup of the verse and pre-chorus. Yet Melee does falter at times, with some tracks sounding like obvious fillers. Love Carries On is especially guilty of this, with the opening melody being outrageously weak, setting the stage for an especially generic piano rock song. She’s Gonna Find Me Here is not particularly strong either, with an unconvincing melancholy sound that was already done earlier in the album.

This earlier sad song is Can’t Hold On, one which describes the tail of feeling down and attempting to get back up again. The first half the song appears to a heartfelt piano ballad that ends quietly and unfinished. But after the softer interlude, the track bursts back out with some added female singers, giving the song a very powerful ending that is found nowhere else on the album. Immediately after Can’t Hold On is one of the strongest tracks on the album. Imitation is another piano based song, except with a driving rock feel instead the softer ballad type. The dark nature of the song is crafted through the different piano style that is used during the verses, and yet another strong buildup into an epic chorus. Chris Cron’s vocals and melodies come into full swing on this track, showing just what the singer is about.

Melee shows with Devils & Angels that they are poised to become a rather large band, offering lush vocal melodies combined with strong piano based tracks, with a stronger feel than any other band of their type. Their style is shown perfectly in such tracks as You Got, Imitation, and Built To Last, which serve as the foundation for what the band can unravel next. Hopefully with their next album, Melee can find that breakthrough single that truly puts them on the map.

Clair Voyant - October 18th, 2007
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