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:: Release Info:
::
:: Artist......> The Monorail
:: Title.......> A Whole New City
:: Label.......> Milquetoast
:: Genre.......> Indie
:: Rip.Date....> 07.30.2005
:: Street.Date.> 00.00.0000
:: Source......> CDDA
:: Quality.....> VBRkbps - Full Stereo
:: Play Time...> 22:59 min
::
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:: Track Listing:
::
:: 01. Busy Mess Stress Test
:: 02. Q + A
:: 03. The Shizamph
:: 04. The Club
:: 05. Writing Has No Volume
:: 06. 16, 17, 18
::
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:: Release Notes:
::
:: It's strange to talk about the passing of the torch when the
:: original torch bearers are in fact still alive and kicking.
:: The torch in question is American indie rock's eternal flame
:: and the bearers of the 90s- guitar crunching, anthem spilling
:: Superchunk- are still very much part of the embers that often
:: wilts near extinction but never quite go out. And since the
:: late 80s and early 90s, there has been a great flirtation
:: between the major players of the industry and these pioneers
:: of sound. We've seen on many occasions bands who trade in
:: their more unadorned locations for "greener" pastures; yet
:: most never really quite garner the same artistic success
:: their independent efforts did.
::
:: Nonetheless, this past year we've seen just how great indie
:: rock can be- I must have said the words 'Arcade' and 'Fire'
:: in the same sentence with glowing adjectives a dozen times
:: already- there is something about the genre that has never
:: allowed it to become saturated by mainstream approval. Indie
:: rock by nature is loud, uncompromising and raw; qualities
:: most often deemed unmarketable by big bucks, a quality that
:: has prevented it from becoming a hapless trend among the
:: mallketeers of music. Sure, every so often a Nirvana comes
:: along, but for the majority of bands, their lasting appeal
:: lies within their often unnoticed calling.
::
:: Washington, DC trio The Monorail is to the new millennium
:: what Superchunk and Dinosaur Jr were to the last. And excuse
:: me for exalting such praise early on in a career but A Whole
:: New City could be one of the best short slabs of rock music
:: I've heard all year. Tuned to the kind of spirited anthemic
:: nature of their predecessors, this EP is overflowing with the
:: sort of angst-ridden riffs both Mac McCaughan and J Mascis
:: would be proud of. And oh the melodies! The melodies kill.
:: "Busy Mess Stress Test" alternates between the softly tuneful
:: and the intense, while "Q + A" is a deceivingly serene song
:: that bustles its way through some truly great organized
:: chaos. The six songs are, for the most part, consistent too;
:: seldom do they wander away from their bread and butter: their
:: unrelenting rhythmic assault.
::
:: On one hand, they've got their Chunk influences down pat, but
:: on the other; it isn't just a bunch of dudes making loud
:: noises in their garage. In the aptly titled "The Club," The
:: Monorail descends their disco ball for a more than competent
:: stab at the dance scene. Driven by seductive dance floor
:: grooves, the track makes play for more traditional sounding
:: disco; wrapped of course, in the unrelenting fuzz of angular
:: guitars and some earnestly thumping percussion work. It's a
:: formula repeated in "Writing Has No Volume," but only to a
:: lesser degree of success as the song seems to wane a little
:: longer than it should. In Layman's terms, they're a strangely
:: working synthesis of Superchunk and Blondie- dance
:: influenced, but firmly rooted in indie rock.
::
:: So what does the future hold for The Monorail? For one, I
:: lied earlier when I said they are going to be great this
:: millennium. No, truth is, they were great last century too-
:: the majority of A Whole New City was written before the turn,
:: and with an upcoming new full-length in the works, time will
:: only tell just where the Monorail will lead us. One thing for
:: sure is that they'll keep that torch burning brightly, and as
:: long as the music is as good as what we've got here, we'll be
:: happy with destination: anywhere.
::
:: Buy it if you like it!
::
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::
:: RiP iN PeACe!
::
::
::
::....................................................................