3 Piece Meal - Tomorrow's Forecast

​3 Piece Meal

​Tomorrow's Forecast
self-released; 2017

3.9 out of 5

By William Morrow
​

I love it when bands take genres that typically usually only go one way but instead make it go five. Tomorrow’s Forecast, the debut album from Maine-based 3 Piece Meal, does exactly this; a rock album at its core, 3 Piece Meal finds ways to make each of their songs unique in one way or another. Frequently utilizing odd time signatures, unexpected chord progressions and a plethora of instruments, yet somehow retaining an incredibly smooth nature, the three-piece certainly has a lot of talent, and shows it in Tomorrow’s Forecast. 

​3 Piece Meal mentioned that their recording process was rushed, however if they hadn’t I certainly would not have been able to tell. To me, the album sounds great, and the production is very solid. They do a really nice job with panning and delay in particular, which helps with their ability to create atmospheres —  if you listen closely enough, you’ll fund them floating around and above the core of their songs, providing the listeners with an extra layer of depth. As far as vocals go, I think the timbre of Asir Arif’s, the lead vocalist and bassist, voice complemented the guitars very well— both were both smooth and predominantly clean, which added nicely to the music’s aesthetic. 

Something that caught me a bit off guard at times was how serious some of the content of the songs were. For example, the second track Suits and Ties begins with some background conversation, immediately followed by some David Gilmour sounding guitar, and then some casual criticism of corporate capitalism. This all happened before the main riff of the song kicked in, which I thought was cool as it did a really nice job of setting the song’s tone and attitude. 

Perhaps my favorite song on Tomorrow’s Forecast was the title track which begins with some jazz influence guitar immediately followed by a hard-hitting, melodic riff, and then exited by some more smooth guitar and vocals. I think that what the band does best is creating unique song structures that flow really well. Each song has a proper sense of movement, which keeps the listener on their toes, making the listening experience more fun in my eyes. 

When I read that the band has only been together for a year, I was surprised. Honestly speaking, they play together exceptionally. Each instrument interacts appropriately and seamlessly with the others, giving the listener the impression that each song evolved naturally. 

Going forward, I am excited to see (or hear?) what 3 Piece Meal does— with the amount of talent that they exhibited in Tomorrow’s Forecast, I expect their second album to blow me away. 

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