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On the Florida band's debut, Steve Brooks picked up exactly where his previous band, Floor, left off; offering a semi-sweet amalgamation of sludge, stoner, and doom metal. On the band's second outing, they began to expand their sound in different directions; incorporating lightning-quick punk tempos and more agreeable pop-rock sensibilities, in addition to making the doom and sludge passages sound thicker and more hellish. The guitar repertoire grew to include flashier riffs and melodies to go along with Juan Montoya's restless shredding. Meanderthal's versatility makes it even more difficult to pin this album to a specific genre. Although, while the band adopts a 'we play whatever we like' philosophy, Torche never feels like they are in a state of identity crisis; strongly anchored by their signature, heavily detuned, rhythm guitar sound and Brook's soaring howl.
The strongest pop-metal crossovers on the album are Grenades, Across the Shields, and Fat Waves. Grenades features droning guitars, chugging along in a rudimentary rhythm that is impossible not to nod your head to. Brooks' phrases are patiently delivered one syllable at a time, further adding to the track's sense of universal suspension. The single Across the Shields doesn't immediately jump to the heavy guitars, but instead creates a satisfying pedal tone in the guitars' more normal register. It gives Brooks space to lay down some great vocal melodies and even sweeter harmonies. We eventually reach a transitional moment where Rick Smith launches into a busy tom groove while tremolo picked guitars create a wash of distortion that fills in the rest of the space. The detuned guitars finally make an appearance, forming a driving groove with its simple, yet effective octave riff. Fat Waves has a similar structure, albeit played at a much more urgent pace. However, the band meditates on tom grooves and tremolo-picked guitars for an extended period of time; building towards a triumphant finish.
The speedy cuts are among my favourites as well. Pirana's thrashy, punk vibes and punchy start-stop dynamics make this cut incredibly fun to listen to. Then there's Little Champion, a short instrumental track that has the most killer riff on the record. It's speedy, the notes are endlessly cascading, and it's in an odd-meter. It's the brightest, sweetest cut on the record, and the only tragedy is that it lasts all of thirty-five seconds.
If I were being picky, Healer is the only song that I'm not super crazy about. I'm not a huge fan of Brook's vocal melody here and I think the harmonies sound a little too sour to my ear. And while I do like the rumbling, tribal finish with the instrumental title track, it does feel a little tedious considering the song before resolves on a very satisfying doom passage; giving the album a good sense of closure. Those minor things aside, Meanderthal is a fantastic rock record that is as heavy as it is sweet. It's a toss-up between this one and the debut for the best Torche record, but I would perhaps give this one the edge due to a more immediate pop appeal and more stylistic variety.