Mystery of Two

New Cassette / Digital Download !!

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:37:57 +0000

Our new EP Color Me comes on cassette with a digital download code and crayons so you can customize the cover if you please. There’s two new songs on there along with a couple cover tunes ( Devo and Neil Young. ) Get one here –> http://www.exitstencil.org/store/music/ColorMe.php

Friday May 28th @ The Beachland Tavern

admin — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:41:51 +0000

Mystery of Two is playing at the Beachland Tavern with The Dreadful Yawns, Prisoners and Dj’s Brandon and Molly ( from Exit Stencil ) The Yawns will be playing the album Rest with the line up from that era . . .Ben, Dave, Mike, Charlie, plus Liz. It’s a later show starting at 10pm with Prisoners, then M2 then the Yawns.

Thursday April 29th @ Now Thats Class

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:38:53 +0000

With Harlem and Wooly Bullies – - - 11213 Detroit Avenue Cleveland, OH 44102

Record Store Day 4.17 @ Permanent Records

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:04:38 +0000

M2 is heading to NYC for Records Store Day April 17th for a full day of performances at Permanent Records in the Greenpoint Neighborhood of Brooklyn. We’ve made a Tape EP called Color Me for the day that has a couple new songs and a couple covers. The tape comes with crayons ( so you can color the cover ) and a digital download code for the tunes. The first set is as 1pm with three others at 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm. We’re also playing the night before ( April 16th @ 9pm ) at the Cake Shop in Manhattan.

Mystery of Two Winter Residency

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:53:08 +0000

It’s been a busy year for us in the Mystery of Two camp. After releasing a self titled LP on Exit Stencil Recordings we hit the road playing the Midwest and East Coast including this years CMJ fest in NYC. Our travels have found us back in Cleveland prepping new material and working on various video projects, one of which will be debuting over the course of these events.

With the winter settling in the decision to approach Art’s Collinwood about a residency came from not only the desire to play and play often, but also as a reaction to the often draining doldrums of February in Cleveland. As we all know, it’s cold and winter starts to drag on, so having a series of free shows with friends is our attempt to fight the tedium the best we know how, which I suppose one could say is loudly. This is our collective encouragement to have some winter fun. Join us as we make our way toward this first spring of a new decade.

Feb 13 th w/ Buried Wires
Feb 20 th w/ Freedom
Feb 27 th w/ Founding Fathers

Visual Artwork by Mystery of Two is hanging in the Cafe for the month.

Arts Collinwood
15605 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44110

Dj’s @ 9 – Bands 10 ish

Boy With the Boot Review

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:41:52 +0000

Mystery of Two – s/t

Cleveland congratulations are in order for Mystery of Two. You can hear this city’s collective grunt of working for everything you have channeled in all the instruments. The guitar is subtly phenomenal, combining light reverberation at a schizophrenic pace with drop down 1992 distortion. The banged out pop of Nick Riley’s drums manages to bottom out when it wants (He is, in this writer’s humble opine, one of the best drummers to witness live – his face sweats genuine happiness when he swings his drum club). Not to mention that all the sympathizing with Pere Ubu is correct…

I find this band’s new wave post-punk full array of comparisons top be true. Weitzel’s voice does have that Byrne vibe (although most everyone forgets to mention Jello Biafra) – BUT I can’t believe that I have never heard anyone reference the inner-Nirvana bubbling right beneath the surface. The dirt, the energy, the raw insatiability that doesn’t quit? I know Nirvana is in there somewhere.

That being said, the record hits some mundane periods, mostly spurred by song writing and droning structure issues. But when the horns kicked in on track 5’s “Repeat It”, I was truly blown away – by far the most beautiful shining moment of this album. The voice manages to keep this record interesting while taking me to the place I love the best – Cleveland.

7.2 out of 10 boots

Review of Grog Shop Show 1.9.10

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:10:09 +0000

On Sat. Jan 9th we had the chance to catch Mystery of Two and Safari perform. Both established Cleveland bands they suceeded in bringing energy to the Grog Shop and brought a final bang to finish off the weekend of free shows.By the time Rock City Sounds arrived at the Grog Shop Saturday night, Mystery of Two was setting up and ready to bring some energy to the venue. The group also has a strong presence around town as they also performed at the Rock Hall earlier in the summer of this year, as seen in this entry: http://blog.cleveland.com/rockcity/2009/07/man_man_and_mystery_of_two_at.html

With Nick Riley on drums, Jeff Deasy on bass and Ryan Weitzel with his guitar and unique singing style, the real Mystery of Two is that there are three members in the band.

The band maintained their unique style of energy Playing previous songs like “Gravity” and a few newer songs like “Ghost” and “Golden Hour”, which as Weitzel mentioned it was “very important on the pronunciation of that one”, and was as much entertaining as that phrase like the lyrics of their songs.

Mystery of Two is playing at Arts Collinwood every Saturday in February so be sure to catch them live sometime for some musical warmth during these cold winter months.

For more info about Mystery of Two, and to also see some interesting music-inspired artwork, please check out their Web site at: http://mysteryoftwo.com.

M2 on the Permanent Records’ best of 2009

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:35:24 +0000

From The Great Pumpkin :

I’ve been in New York for three and a half years, and Greenpoint for the past year and a half. When I moved to the city I never thought that I would have such a devotion to one record shop….I have always been a record buyer/ collector, and even worked at a record store (which I still consider one of the best). I was familiar with the other stores in the city, but had not been to Permanent Records until I moved to Greenpoint.

This has come to be, more or less, my only stop for records in the city. Marjorie and Ron have been working there since I started going in, and have become more like friends than people who run the shop. I like that they are honest, and if they aren’t into something they will tell you, and if you are interested in recommendation they will offer you an endless array of albums and genres depending on your mood.

Permanent Records is one of those places that I always want to go, and some days find myself emailing or playing phone tag with them. Permanent Records is my favorite record store in the city, and if you haven’t been yet I highly recommend it…you just might find your new regular record shop.

Marjorie, Ron, and Milli were nice enough to donate their best of lists to be posted here on the Great Pumpkin, and I was really excited to see what they loved this year:

Marjorie’s Best of 2009

Albums (alphabetical):
- Arbouretum- Song of the Pearl
- Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
- Jarvis Cocker- Further Complications
- Eddy Current Suppression Ring- selftitled
- Eddy Current Suppression Ring- Primaru colors
- Fresh & Onlys- selftitled
- Fresh & Onlys- Grey Eyed Girl
- Horrors- Primary Colors
- I Was A King- selftitled
- Cass McCombs- Catacombs
- R. Stevie Moore- Meet the R Stevie Moore
- Muslims (now known as Soft Pack)- selftited
- Mystery of Two- selftitled
- Obits- I Blame You
- Ty Segall- Lemons
- Ty Segall- Horn of Unicorn
- So Cow- selftitled
- Sonny & The Sunsets- Tomorrow is Alright
- Richard Swift- Atlantic Ocean
- VA (Numero 028)-Wayfaring Strangers Lonesome Heroes
- Woods- Songs of Shame

Best Re-Issues:
- Amanaz- Africa
- Bachs- Out of the Bachs
- Chandra- Transportation
- Ryan Trevor- Introducing
- Spiritual Singers- Ntsamina
- Witch- Lazy Bones

Live:
- REM- Live at the Olympia

Stand-out Tracks/ Song of the Year:
- Laura Veirs- “July Flame” (from July Flame)
- The xx- “Crystalized” (from selftitled)
- Hush Arbors- “Fast Asleep” (from Yankee Reality)

Ron’s Best Albums of 2009

Mystery Of Two – S/T
Meanderthals – Desire Lines
Jeremy Jay – Slow Dance
Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy
Ganglians – Monster Head Room
A.C. Newman – Get Guilty
The Horrors – Primary Colors
Fresh & Onlys - Grey Eyed Girls
Eddy Current Suppression Ring - S/T
9DW / Boris - Golden Dance Classics
Crocodiles – Summer Of Hate
Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
Ty Segall – Horn The Unicorn

Milli’s Top 25 Albums 2009

25. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
24. Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be?
23. Metric – Fantasies
22. Sunn O))) – Monoliths & Dimensions
21. Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid
20. The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come
19. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
18. Mandy Moore – Amanda Leigh
17. The Dead Weather – Horehound
16. Sean Lennon - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead
15. Tom Waits – Glitter & Doom Live
14. Daniel Johnston – Is And Always Was
13. Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
12. Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band – Outer South
11. Dashboard Confessional – Alter The Ending
10. Ben Kweller – Changing Horses
09. Karen O & the Kids – Where The Wild Things Are (Original Soundtrack)
08. Regina Spektor – Far
07. Relient K – Forget And Not Slow Down
06. Andrew WK – 55 Cadillac
05. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
04. They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science
03. Mastodon – Crack The Skye
02. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
01. Eels – Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire

If you are interested in any of these releases, and happen to be in the New York City I would highly recommend checking at Permanent Records first. Marjorie, Ron, and Milli would be happy to help you find them, or anything you are looking for…and if they don’t have it they will try to order it(believe me I have them special order way too much for me). Customer service keeps people coming back, and this place definitely has it!

Permanent Records is located at
181 Franklin St
(between Green St & Huron St)
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
(718) 383-4083
website / twitter / facebook

If you are not in NYC maybe try an online music retailer ?

Links:

more on Permanent Records here.
more guest best of lists can be found here.

Thanks again to Permanent Records to contributing to the Great Pumpkins best of 2009 series and Happy Holidays!

http://www.gprecs.com/2009/12/22/permanent-records-best-of-2009/

We’re going to be doing an in store this April 16th !

Big Take Over Review

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:18:30 +0000

Mystery of Two
Mystery of Two
(Exit Stencil)
This Cleveland three—not two, although maybe that’s the mystery to investigate—like to start songs with a hyper jangle, rapid indie rock that gradually gives way to a super fuzz wall of sludge, like some mutant spawn of early GBV or Mission of Burma being quickly overrun by the Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., and about 20 Dischord bands of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. Over the din, singer (and Exit Stencil maven) Ryan Weitzel sounds like Cleveland stalwart Pere Ubu’s David Thomas crossed with Tonio K. and Frank Zappa, which makes his band sound smart and worried, instead of clichéd. For a second LP (following 2007’s Arrows Are All You Know; and both songs from a previous 2008 single reappear here), this is unrelenting, and Weitzel’s guitar pyrotechnics drive all 10 songs into overload even as his odd voice provides paranoiac edge. They’re especially good when adding classic Spanish trumpets on “Reprise It,” an added spice they will include more of if they are smart; but the basic premise is rock solid, from simmering boil to dirty eruptions. (exitstencil.org)

Jersey Beat Review

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:06:57 +0000

Mystery of Two (Exit Stencil)

By Christine Shuster

I never know what to expect when I’m faced with an experimental rock band. You could end up listening to virtually anything when you hit that play button. Cleveland’s Mystery of Two – on their second, self-titled album – are definitely making some goods sounds with their experimental rock. Singer/guitarist Ryan Weitzel’s captivating baritone vocals are a great compliment to the music’s darker sounds. With Nick Riley’s steady drum beats and Jeff Deasey’s rhythmic bass slamming, Mystery of Two provide a sturdy foundation to their songs. Their music continually propels forward, and it’s very easy to lose yourself in. Weitzel comes out of nowhere with talented guitar jams that grab your attention, and rip you from whatever thought may have been going through your head.

The opening track, “Gravity,” first pulls you in with its catchy guitar rhythm, and then let’s Weitzel’s vocals hijack your ears. Mystery of Two then hits you with some power guitar, paired with Weitzel’s vocals, strongly closing out this great opening track. “The Spark Is Sweet,” the fourth track on their LP, hooks you in with different musical layers, and looped repetition. It’s like a musical black hole that just drags you in. Another strong track is “Swimming.” This one has even more catchy guitar rhythms, over an almost subliminal-like bass.

Mystery of Two is one experimental rock band worth listening to. This album doesn’t disappoint on any of its tracks. The only downfall is that there aren’t more tracks of this.