(Photo courtesy of the band's Facebook)
A few years ago, a large number of bands, friends, strangers, and curious passerby gathered in a cramped yet homely barn in Derry, NH for Hopscotchoria. A myriad of emo, post-hardcore, folk, post-rock, and other bands played. It rocked. A year later, Hopscotchoria II happened, which was possibly even better than the first (I hope that I never forget the set that Pathos played), but the festival then fell by the wayside when the main organizer, Bill, moved to Chicago. Fortunately for the people who attended one of these two events, they were introduced to a number of hidden gems in the music scene; Mural is one such gem.
I think the closest comparison I could make would be to one of their contemporaries, New Hampshire beloved Deer Leap, although Mural tends to be more reserved with their music. It's what most people would describe as "indie rock," with some light post-rock elements thrown in (comparable to Moving Mountains?). The bright guitars are lead by multiple vocalists who often support each other with balanced harmonies, all supported by a simple but driving rhythm section. Unfortunately, I think that the Summer Demo is their only recorded release; fortunately, it's a remarkably polished demo and leaves me hopeful for more.
Below is a video of them playing at UNH. One excited Youtube user commented, "Best band to come out of NH in a very, VERY long time." While I don't necessarily agree with this, I think Mural is very aware of what they want to do and they're good at doing it. Although the quality of this video isn't great, I think you can still understand the scope of this band's live performance -- their sound translated very well live.
I haven't thought about Mural in years, but a visit to their Facebook page reveals that they are, in fact, active as of earlier this year; hopefully we'll see some new music or performances from them in the coming months.
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