Yasuharu Konishi Pizzicato Five Readymade Digs Electric Parade Soundtrack CD - Import

Review by Jason Warburg, from Daily Vault:In an era when music has been bastardized into so many micro-genres that nearly every new band traces back to an obvious musical niche, precursor, or dominating influence, it's refreshing to say that I've never heard anything quite like M-Lab before. In fusing together elements of progressive rock, piano-based pop and Broadway theatricality, this unique quintet has created a sound all its own.

This New York-based group's originality stems in part from the unique building blocks of its sound -- acoustic and electric piano (Derek Gregor), acoustic and electric violin (Skye Steele), bass guitar (Twon), drums (Mike White) and vocals (Drew Brody, with harmonies from Twon). How these pieces fit together changes from song to song on From Baser Elements, or even from minute to minute. The first 60 seconds of "Free Now" sound like a chamber quartet, the second like the quiet section from a Broadway score, and the remainder like a slow-building, somewhat operatic rock ballad with keening violin accents.

In places the piano-playing captures a kind of Freddy Mercury-esque sense of pomp and grandeur, but is more typically flowing and lyrical. You can find hints of Coldplay in the supple melodies of tracks like "Talking To Myself," but more typical are the Kansas-meets-Andrew Lloyd Webber stylings of "Cityscape." The one song that has kind of a pop feel is hidden at the end of the disc -- "To Be There" sounds vaguely Dennis De Young/Styx-ish on the choruses, though its verses and instrumental passages are much quieter than that implies.