I’m excited to be premiering a new track from my old friends Tera Melos called “Bite”. It’s taken from their upcoming record X’ed Out which comes out on April 16. If you’re unfamiliar with the band they’ve been described as making “math rock”, that they’re “jazz inspired”, that their sound is something like “Beach Boys meets The Flaming Lips.” I can say with certainty that these descriptions and influences are true as I grew up with two guys from the band, Nick and Nathan, so I have a bit of a unique perspective.

From what I’ve heard of the X’ed Out this is their most ambitious effort yet. “Bite” actually reminds me of a pop inspired version of a Deftones song, but with a lot more complexity. I’m also getting a Primus vibe when it comes to the drums, in particular. That’s an odd combination but it’s exactly what makes Tera Melos such a unique band. I think it’s also interesting how the track is mixed, with the vocals being at an equal weight to the rest of the instruments. Lead singer Nick Reinhart’s voice and choruses float and along with the other instruments, combining to create a cohesive whole.

You should also take a listen to “Sunburn” which is also on X’ed Out. It’s a serious summer time jam which totally defies anything they’ve done before, which I think is a great step for them to take. The guys have always been influenced by pop music, so why not let that shine through? This song is still 1000x better than what you hear on most radio stations.

You can pre-order X’ed Out on Hello Merch by clicking here or you can pre-order it on iTunes.