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| Album Reviews: These Monsters - the random songs on MySpace |
A slightly tenuous link - this five-and-possibly-more-piece band are actually from Leeds, but one of the members is a local boy. That's good enough for me if it means I get to review this- epic on a whole new level.
Track Listing:
1 - A Nice Day To Start A (the full title isn't shown on MySpace)
2 - NightOfTheStorm
3 - Dust And Ivy
These are the tracks currently on MySpace - I believe that they make up the band's first CD. Whether or not they?re in the right order I don't know. I've listened to these tracks in every possible combination, and it doesn't change the most important fact, but I'll get to that later.
First, lets get the formalities out of the way. The recording is about as close to perfect as you can get. Every instrument (and on top of the standard rock combo there's saxophone, keyboards, samples, and god only knows what else) sounds exactly like it should, and no matter how much is going on at any one time you can still make out everything with crystal clarity. My little graphic equaliser merrily danced away across the entire spectrum; something that not many bands can claim to have made it do.
Now the important bit: this is really, really good. These Monsters are constantly going to get compared to other acts like Sigor Ros and Pelican (especially ?The Fire In Our Throats??) - which is understandable - but I prefer this to both of them. There?s layer upon layer of music, each instrument getting it?s chance to shine through for a moment before drifting gracefully back into the mix. The leads are amazingly tasteful, never once crossing the line into masturbatory, and the rhythms underneath swell and subside, constantly evolving and never becoming dull. With ambient music, there?s a definite skill to making sure there?s still emotion in the music (especially in the absence of vocals), which for me is where Sigor Ros fall down ? they create the canvas but they don?t paint the picture, if you see what I mean. With These Monsters, the lead parts create an emotional focus for the non-specific feel of the music.
Okay, I?ll sum up before I start to gush. This is really good music. There are some people that will see the length of the tracks assume they?re boring. Some people will moan at the lack of vocals. Some will put it on in the background, not really listen, and mistakenly call it dull. Don?t be one of these people. Put the CD on, sit back, close your eyes and let every note of it waft gently into your being. I guarantee by the end of it you?ll feel a little bit wiser, a lot calmer, and maybe a touch smug at knowing that some people won?t get this, but you do.
Poison Pen
These Monsters (MySpace)
Submitted by Poison_Pen
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Posted on Monday, December 19 @ 09:00:00 PST
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Average Score: 5
Votes: 4
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Re: These Monsters ? the random songs on MySpace (Score: 1)
by drthirkenstein (drthirkenstein@hotmail.com) on Thursday, December 29 @ 13:19:00 PST
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.myspace.com/thesemonsters | nice one on the recording comments. we did the guitars bass and drums in a studio (a basement in leeds) for ?60, then recorded everything else and mixed it all on sam's lap top, before going back to the studio to spend another 60 quid mastering it. cheap as chips basically! well chuffed.
if anyone wants a copy, they're ?2 each, email me! drthirkenstein@hotmail.com and we do take pay pal
and that track's called 'nice day to start a war'
nice one on our first review! |
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