Instanika - Moon Rain

Instanika is a 4 piece which hails from Toronto.  The band is a mix of blues and alt rock with an edge.  They have recently just released the debut record Moon Rain, which contains 10 hook laden tunes.  The band has kind of a garage rock feel to it, which would be cool, if they were playing in your backyard.  Their sound reminds me of some of the bands that came out of the post grunge movement.  They are not grungy, but their not alternative either.  A cool thing for these guys, is that they infuse some blues to round out their sound.

Moon Rain started off a little slow with me, but has gotten better with a few more spins.  The first track to grab me, was Vroom Vroom, which is one of the heavier tracks, that contains a really cool groove.  The songs are pretty well structured, but could use some tightening up.  I see this with many bands.  They have a good idea, but they don't finish.  Make sense?  Either that, or they try to mash up too many ideas into one song, which ends up leaving you unsatisfied, like with the track Helium.  With additional work, these guys could be on to something really cool.

Standout Tracks: Vroom Vroom, Filipina, Living It All

Bottom Line: The songs on Moon Rain are okay, but could use some tweaking.  The songs are pretty basic, but do have melody.  If you're looking for a band with some garage rock attitude, then these are your guys.  If you're looking for something more polished, then this one may not be for you.

-Ragman could see these guys being a fun bar band.