The Mendoza Line
Draft Day Jitters 7''
Kindercore
1996
Rating: 6 psychoanalysts out of 10
As near as I can tell this is the first release by the Mendoza Line, an EP of four songs on clear green vinyl. IT would be a struggle to call any of this crucial, but all of the songs are pretty good - They have a jangle pop sound that they occasionally amp up into Replacements territory, and other times drop off into near alt-country. I prefer the upbeat songs of side A (those being "Jefferson" and "7th Round") over the mellower fare of side B ("I Behaved That Way" and "Latch Key Heart").
The Mendoza Line
Fortune
Cooking Vinyl
2004
Rating: 5.5 power hitting catchers out of 10
I always want to love The Mendoza Line, I really do – they’re southern, they’re named after an obscure baseball stat, they’re twangy – all the makings of a great band in my book. But somehow, the pieces never quite add up. Not that they are a bad, they have their shining moments, but overall I find that their sound jumps around a bit too much, and what usually sticks with me in the end were the bits that I didn’t like. One song will be a mellow rock number ala Wilco, the next track will sound like Neko Case, and then there will be a jangly rock number (these are my favorite and what I personally think they excel at). If you’re already a fan, this record seems to be more of the same and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Otherwise, enter at ye own risk.
The Mendoza Line
If They Knew This Was The End
Bar/None
2003
Rating: 6 final years out of 10
Although I was fooled at first as I’ve only paid attention to The Mendoza Line in a very half-ass manner, "If They Knew This Was the End" is the re-release of their debut album, in the fashion that they had intentionally wanted it released. I’m unsure as to why it wasn’t released up to their specs in the first place, but they felt it a big enough issue to see that it got handled appropriately this time some six years later.
This album suffers from an interesting syndrome I’d like to refer to as the "Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde" conundrum, a lesser case of musical "Attention Deficit Disorder". There are plenty of bands out there who put out albums where they jump genres between songs so fast that you don’t know if you’ve just listened to one band or a mix tape. Every once in a while a band might come along that can pull this off, but most of the time it just ends up being a lukewarm mess of over extended song ideas. The Mendoza Line has at least limited their music types to two: Superchunk-style pop/punk and mellow, uninteresting indie pop ditties.
I enjoy the upbeat tracks very much – there’s an energy and a sound present that brings to mind The Replacements covering Superchunk songs, the sort of tracks that after only a few listens you find yourself singing along with the songs whether you like it or not. The mellow tracks, while not exactly bad, just don’t seem to have anything to grab onto. After my first couple of listens of the CD, I found that every time one of these songs came on I wanted to skip to the next upbeat track.
I would say something about how hopefully they’ll drop the mellow crap and stick with the upbeat songs in the future, but since this is a re-release I already know what happens – they land somewhere in the middle and produce likeable but forgettable pop songs with a slight country tinge (with the exception of the song ‘Baby I Know What You’re Thinking’, one of my favorite songs I’ve heard in the last few years and the only reason I hold onto their album "We’re All In This Alone").
