This is a different experience for me. Usually when I'm reviewing a band's music, it is in the form of a physical CD. Which I'm usually twirling over and over in my hands, in the moments between actual typing, where I try to coax out one coherent thought onto the page, for a change. Inverse Order, as of yet, has nothing for me to twirl about and yet I'm still sitting here trying to coax words from my mind because they more than make-up for that by having a handful of damn good songs on their MySpace page. Songs that I hope to see make their way onto a physical release or turn on enough new listeners that the band finds itself amply supported, when they do make that leap.

Having said that, Inverse Order is a band that isn't just blind newborns on the musical scene. So far they've managed to record and self-promote two singles onto the airwaves of New Zealand. Most recently with a song entitled "Hope For Us All?" and that song is as good a place to start digging into their sound as any.

"Hope For Us All?" is just a honest to goodness "great" rock song. Anchored with the wonderful zigzag sway of an insanely catchy guitar hook it manages to take flight and soar on some fairly amazing vocals. Dense, multi-layered and obviously honed to perfection, here's what vocalist Neill Fraser told me about the track:

Neill: Of the four (songs up on our MySpace page) we definitely spent the most time recording this one, hence the mass of guitars and melodies. The song was written originally as some kind of weird delay-drenched psychedelic piece but a conscious change in direction pushed it into what it now is. Lyrically it's a something of a commentary on the state of the world, maybe not so much politically, but (about) life in general. Either way, we're in a strange place and this song tries to tackle that.

"In All Its Glory" announces itself with a throaty growl from the dual guitar attach of Thomas Watts and Neill Fraser, and never looks back. Held in check by the underlying funk of James Dylan's excellent bass work, it's just about what you'd want in a perfect modern rock song. Here's what Thomas Watts said about that track:

Tom: I wrote the music for this song, but I can't quite remember what it was based upon. I think when it got recorded it ended up sounding a bit too chain-sawish, but that's just me. I've got to say, for as much as Neill derides it, I think the soaring bridgey bit is one of my favorite bits of our music.

"Vices" is a song that manages to sound like a laboratory experiment which mixed a touch of Anberlin's sound with Silverchair's sense of lyricism and then added in the "Ingredient X" that is the musicianship of Inverse Order. Dynamic and haunting, it's just a damn nice song. Here's what Thomas Watts and Neill Fraser wrote about the track: