I remember listening to this quite soon after it came out and bouncing off of it. Felt I’d gotten all it had to offer after the second listen. Wasn’t sure how to write about it. Kind of started just before Eunoia came out, or at least started preparing. At some point after Eunoia was released I began to wonder if it was louder than 3+5. Checked and saw that it was. Not by much, but I still found it noticeable, and I was going to include something about that in this review, but kept it to the Eunoia review instead as it was more appropriate to do so.

I’d had a very rambling draft that repeated the same paragraph with different words two or three times. Thought it’d be easy to edit and get out of the way, and it was… except I rewrote a good chunk of it today. I’m happy with how the review turned out, but I feel it could be much stronger and much more varied. I kind of summarised and I feel that going into the details here would’ve served for a better review.

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So the first thing to get across is that Melt-Banana’s 3+5 is relentless. From the opening squeals forming into song on “Code” to the final thrust of energy in “Seeds”, Melt-Banana don’t do much in the way or resting. The album is constantly on, constantly maximised, and constantly fascinated with sound. It’s also short, and length is where Melt-Banana quite appreciably held back.

3+5 is as much of song as it is of sound. Cyclic progression keeps each song structured; everything holds together nicely, even if it seems it’ll turn to mess. The sounds used have a particular kind of noisy sheen to them; they sound produced as though for some sort of pop, but with all the layering they blend into a thick mass. Still, a good deal of clarity cuts through, and that’s part of why the album can be a bit much at times. You have this mass that at is one thing and many clear pieces all at once smashing into you. If you’re not in the right mood for it, the songs kind of blur into each other; the demarcation of tracks becomes more a suggestion that doesn’t matter, and it’s easy to tire of the release.

And that pretty much covers it. What else is there to say? Melt-Banana do what they do and they do it damn well. They treat their art like art. They’re quite willing to experiment and warp their stuff into familiar structures. What is in 3+5 can be incredibly rewarding if you’re in the right frame of mind to immerse yourself into its abrasive flood of smoothed intensity. Otherwise, it’s easy to bounce off of it, and perhaps justifiably so.

This is an album unwilling to endear itself to the listener. It requires listening to it on its own terms, and exists in a state of being both incredibly appealing and highly off-putting. As such, it’s as easy to want to further dig into as it is to feel done with it after a listen. But when you’re in the right mood, you’re hearing a lot, and all that intensity peels back a bit. The songs reveal themselves a bit more, and don’t feel so full-on. 3+5 can feel like a lot to take in. When it works it’s not, and instead, it feels like a wondrous exploration of sound, melody and song.

Had the album been longer, Melt-Banana would’ve created something likely more tiring than enjoyable, regardless of mood. It is quite a singular album in how it doesn’t really slow down, doesn’t stop, and doesn’t minimise. It is the most Melt-Banana album Melt-Banana could make at this time.

3+5 is obvious, and perhaps expected. It’s very much a Melt-Banana album, but Melt-Banana have never sounded cynical. This album is no exception. They’re still exploring, still growing, and still putting out quality releases. There’s still a fascination with sound and how it works as music, and how it works as something to progress upon the established. So it’s obvious, but it’s obvious that it’d sound familiar whilst moving forward.

If you’re in the mood for it, 3+5 solid gold fun the whole way through.