4 out of 5

Label: Expert Work Records

Produced by: John John, Chris Deckard (recorded by)

Just how many amazing, local, one-album bands are out there? Or even the bands that didn’t make it that far, and just dropped a demo, or never even got their tracks on to any form of recording? While I think an earlier incarnation of “me” may’ve thought there was some kind of self-selection – like if you were in one of the lesser-available categories, you weren’t good enough – and that exceptions were kind of mystical, vague “they coulda’ be somethin'” memories that essentially fall into the first bucket – time, a growing record collection, and labels like Expert Work digging up unheard / rarely-heard acts and local legends and giving them a platform has taught me that: damn, there are a lot of these bands out there.

Still, let’s allow that as many as there may be, that’s still a drop in the total bucket of All Music Ever, meaning Expert Work’s owners still need to have a discerning ear. But when the “lost tracks” of a one-album / one-7″ band are this good, it nonetheless makes my head spin as above, wondering how much more we’re missing.

In Medias Res were indie punkers of the early 00s, doing the Midwest shuffle: it’s a bit emo; it’s a bit grunge; it’s a lotta unsettled. IMR danced between punk / hardcore / indie in a way that rivaled the stuff coming out of Dischord – Q and Not U and the like – without some of what I generally consider the overly precious artifice of that scene. Their music has the complexity of math-rock but with willingness to explore outside of their mainline genre of punk: that flexes into every track being focused on the prize of a memorable melody.

This set gives us an early, 2001 demo, a lot of extra material from the time of their 7″ (2002ish), a couple songs from the time of their 2003/2004-recorded album, and pairs the demo bookend – which is the roughest thing here – with a kooky, live dub mix. The fact that a lot of these are untitled is slightly suggestive of a small flaw: while the songs are complete, you can sense why they might’ve pared down to what was on the 7″ and album, as a returning waltz-like guitar riff – I mean, there is even a song called Waltz – reappears as the backing of several tracks. It’s a unique vibe, and one the group definitely couldn’t get away from: a sprightly melody line that forms the basis for heavier rock and mathy-interplay. IMR does a great job of dressing it up in a multitude of ways, but it can be seen / heard as a slight crutch, like early Minus the Bear with their finger-tapping.

That aside, this material hangs together excellently as an album, smartly putting the off-sounding tunes as the aforementioned bookends – an intro and a coda. Inbetween, you get a “lost” album that truly could’ve / should’ve been a classic of the genre.