Meneguar, about 6 months ago, were the latest addition to my personal list. Basing my whole desire to listen to them on some great photography of them on Skyscraper Magazine, I enquired, and my, I was not disappointed. Meneguar for me did what I wanted from both emotional hardcore and indie rock but no one else appeared to have even thought of; that mixing the two together is a really, really good idea.

One thing that definitely did strike me though was how, what is in intent, two punk records, were so deep and took many listens to fully appreciate the sound and the layers that go into their music. Of course, this isn't the first time this has happened, if Fucked Up's incredible 'Hidden World' is anything to go by, let alone some of Black Flag's later records.

So with this in mind, I approached 'The In Hour' with some caution, although very excited to be hearing a new album (and the really nice artwork and packaging). I suppose because their 3rd LP's release hasn't been very long since 'Strangers in Our House' fans, myself included, haven't had too long to get that sound set in our head as being the ultimate Meneguar sound.

Because, without dabbling with words, 'The In Hour' is a huge departure from what's gone on before it. The Emotional Hardcore influence and even some of its melodies are long gone now; the Meneguar of 2008 is a lot more influenced by folk and even at times psychedelia much like the band's spin-off act Woods.

One of the first things you'll also notice about this, is that in a similarly inspired move (following on from Times New Viking and No Age earlier this year) is how damn old it sounds. It's clearly a theme, you can see it in the packaing (which literally looks like it's been stolen from some 60's b-movie or just a lesser prog act) and was something they wanted to experiment with. And, at first, this appears to hinder the sound, particuarly for fans of their earlier, much bigger produced work, and makes it slightly difficult to get into at first. However, it doesn't completely lose its earlier style, as there is some great poppy songs; 'Some Other Life', 'The In Hour', which, after a few listens, turn out to be massively beneficial from it's lo-fi recordings.

The rest however, manages to sound like Pink Floyd's 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' ('We Own, We Sell') a lo-fi Yeasayer ('The Morning, The Night') the aforementioned Times New Viking and like their already established folk sound with Woods. This is by no means a bad thing. In fact, the only duff track is it's opener 'Let Us Decide' which fails to really get the listener moving anywhere, it's not until the fantastic 'Some Other Life' that things get moving.

It, as a record, is creepy and nostalgic and may at first be a shock to the system for fans of the old school but has massive potential after given a few listens. And that, after all is what has happened on every Meneguar record. They have progressively got more subtle and less immediate by release, and is increasingly challenging for the listener (which in turn, produces a much more rewarding listen.) Besides, Meneguar are clearly a band who are still challenging themselves and experimenting with sounds before they settle on a definite one; there isn't one release that is absolutely perfect, but they all show massive potential and excitement. Here's hoping then, that on record number 4, this band will have nailed it. For now though, we have 3 hugely enjoyable records, and I urge you all to get involved now.