Customer Reviews

One Step More & You Die (Reis)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On the surface, it's hard to distinguish Mono from their peers (ie Mogwai) in the arena of underground, instrumental rock. Their explosive, propulsive blasts of layered guitar combustion are counteracted by extremeley soft, delicate interludes and as a result on paper these guys may sound like more of the same old/same old. But one listen to this band reveals that they are a truly unique entity and deserving of a greater audience and much attention. Live, these guys are completely engulfing, and te result is a uniquely cathartic experience that puts most bands to shame. On their second album, the band explores lengthy themes and whether they are rocking out at their hardest (recommendation: listen to this album with the bass cranking and the stereo LOUD) or quietly building up, there shines through an indescribable subltetey that makes this music totally engaging. It almost seems like their Japanese-ness comes through, making their music delicate and pretty even in its loudest moments. Whatever it is that makes Mono amazing, however, they've got it. And you'd do well to check these guys out

This is American Psych at its best performed by Japanese guitar-flame-throwers. The second track is quite possibly the heaviest piece of recorded music in existence, and is worth the price of admission alone. The opening track is pretty and quiet, and Mono tends to alternate between death-distortion and gorgeous clean tones. If you are at all interested in instrumental guitar heaviness combined with beautiful and heart-rending chord changes and balanced by quiet melancholia, then you can't go wrong with this album. Mono is the highlight of the current psych rock scene, and this album is a great place to start.

ladies and gentlemen, i profess knowledge of few things. one of them, however, is a certain connection with the whole post-rock movement. i grew up on the stuff. from the first rodan and bark psychosis to mogwai and godspeed, i adore many of the bands. this band, it seems to me, is alot like mogwai circa that time between young team and CODY. sonically explosive yet somber and slowly buidling. i dig the album, yet, it seems that originality is NOT their strong stuff. please folks, buy the mogwai stuff first. you'll be glad you did. and no, not for the levis commercial song either.

Mono, a Japanese instrumental rock group on Arena Rocking records returns on their sophomore disc, One Step More and You Die.

Sonic Youth-style sheets of sound dominate the album, but are separated by moving and soothing cello pieces that are like the calm before a storm. One Step More and You Die is Monos second album, and its greatest delights lay in the pummeling guitar rock and ambience of every song. Layering eerie clouds of melodic white noise with roaring guitar work, the entire album throbs with a pulsing, and distinctively powerful sound unlike anything Ive ever heard before. The best track on the album is defiantly com (?), a song that develops and builds like an offshore storm, crashing into a nightmarish maelstrom of distorted guitars and rhythmic bass.

On a personal note, I saw Mono entirely by accident. I (and another particularly insectoid staffer from AKPCEP.com) hauled off to go see a local video-game-theme cover band and stayed for Mono, the billed act. Their were no more than 2 dozen people in the hall, but the band destroyed everyone their. My mouth was dry by the end of the set; Id been gawking. The packed up and left without fanfare, just as they came. It was like watching the world explode.

Like instrumental psychedelia in the Mogwai/Slint/Tortoise vein? Buy this now. I got it in Japan when it first came out last year, and it quickly became my favorite release of 2002. Beautiful, melancholic noise.

I had heard of the "other" Mono through Formica Blues also and when I heard Mono were playing in my town I was excited. I DID find out ahead of time this band was Japanese and not the same one, but I went anyway. I have been attending concerts since 1974 and these guys were one of the most unique bands I have ever seen & just blew me away!
This disc is a clear representation of what I "experienced" and while I do not listen to this genre often I can't recommend this C/D highly enough. If you are a fan of interesting different music played by great musicians Get this disc.

Who knew Japan had bands that blow most American Bands out of the water?(I did, haha) To put these guys in the same topic of conversation as mogwai is well deserved. Punishingly beautiful and melancholic melodies give an ambience of hope, despair, longing, and anger in any environment (not trying to sound cheesy but damn, that's what I feel when listening to this cd). The buildups in these songs require your undivided attention or else you'll miss out on a journey that only these Japanese geniuses can take you. Jump on the bandwagon now! This is extraordinary.

One More Step is the most brilliant avant rock release since 1999's The Fragile. Listen to the entire CD at once. As also with Thirteenth Step, this epic is heard best when the listener allows the synergy to develop fully. (BTW the latest from A Perfect Circle, which is entitled Thirteenth Step, shows how far a rock band can progress when it receives a confluence of seemingly destined inspiration and luck.)

What's more, the second track Com(?) is the best on any of the three albums mentioned above. I serendipitously discovered this music when I tried to order what I thought was a new release from Mono, the band that gave us Formica Blues.

This is one of the most intricate, well-thought, and emotional pieces of work I've heard in a long time. It takes modern instrumental music to new highs as it runs the gamut from cynical minimalism to angst-ridden antagonism. The second track is a 15+ minute journey through and epic soundscape, and is worth the price of the album alone.

first time i ever heard mono, they opened for a band called the helio sequence. i was so blown away i ordered their first album, 'under the pipal tree'. i've got all three of their releases and this one is the best one. the guitar work is some of the best in rock music today, and i can't find another band that has an even remotely similar sound. the darker pieces are what maynard (of tool) wishes he could create. if you want some damn good mood music, these guys are it. if you want to impress your friends, these guys will do that for you. and if you ever see them live, bring earplugs, because it gets LOUD!