Division Day “The Mean Way In” Review

Just like a solid mix tape, it’s hard to determine the audience, their tastes and preferences and willingness to listen to whatever it is that you think is good. If you start with a song too rigid, or hard, you risk the chance of quickly alienating your listener. On the opposite end of the spectrum, attempting to build a foundation with a powerless song can have quite the opposite effect. In that case the mix can easily be categorized as something essentially useless; unless used as a sleep inducing opiate. None the less, The Mean Way In avoids this conflict altogether with its opening track “Bad Black Moon;” offering up a truly solid opener. The Mean Way In offers a series of well polished rock songs which characterize just what I thought rock was missing in 2004. My only interjection of criticism would be that the final song “Wings and Bones” completely wipes the slate clean of all things rocking. None the less when reading into the band’s history I had to ask myself, “Self? What exactly is the intended outcome of a band who claims both Deerhoof and The Beach Boys as influences?” Furthermore, this bastard child of seemingly all things hip has played with now-defunct rockers Mclusky. Sufficed to say, until Mclusky, Deerhoof and Brian Wilson presume metaphysical form and spawn a non-screamo EP circa 2004… The Mean Way In will do.