2011 - Monocard

7 November: Single - Laptop Dog
14 November: Album - Ersatz G.B.

"How can we stand firm against the process?"

A busier touring schedule (and perhaps the change of record label) meant nearly 18 months had passed since the last recorded output before a limited edition single appeared in November. The lead track was Laptop Dog and that was accompanied with versions of Cosmos 7 & and Monocard that differed from the soon to be released album.

I seem to remember enjoying the album when it came out but going off it after a few plays. First time listening in a while so here goes...

... I'd file it under good but not great.

It makes an excellent start with the frantic Cosmos 7. It has shades of The Past about it, particularly in the keyboards. That's a good thing. Taking Off ticks the Smith random exclamation box "Bonjela complexion", "8pm, tidy Italian" and reflects the album as a whole - it's good, but not quite 100% on it.

Nate Will Not Return references the TV show Gossip Girl which I've never watched so can't offer much on that point. Much of the lyric revolves around rhyming words with Nate at the end of the line. It's fun at first but starts to, well, grate. (Sorry.) Mask Search is a top bit of Fallabilly (yes, I am having to make genres up - I've long been running out of new things to say!) The wailing at 2:07 is magnificent and I'm sure we're all "sick of Snow Patrol".

With Greenway the one-finger piano and growled intro give no clue where the next four minutes are going. Which is effectively Heavy Metal, Greek Heavy Metal at that (thanks again to The Fall in Fives.) You can't fault the energy but MES is ramping up the catarrh-based vocal sound which is't always a winner. You couldn't get much more of a change of pace than Happi Song. Elena takes the vocals on something that is perhaps her 'Bill is Dead'. It's alright, but you wouldn't want an album of it. 

Monocard is another change of direction. It's super-slow with a foreboding feel about it, The group are in top form, Elena's synth noises slicing through the gloom. The false endings feel right, MES is going on about who knows what and it doesn't feel like the eight minutes it comes in at. Laptop Dog is another one that doesn't really catch fire for me. Maybe it's the drumming, which seems over-prominent and batters everything else into submission. 

The drumming suits I've Seen Them Come much better though. If you've read previous posts you'll know of my love of Youwanner. This is absolutely in that mould. It's terrific. The album finishes with Age of Chang which is another that's good solid Fall fare without being anything special. It sounds like MES has re-found the megaphone but I'm not a lover of the shouted backing vocals. We finish on a laugh on the line "A dam of vast proportions will break over Hawksmoor". Perhaps he's amused by the thought of the amount of time people will spend trying to penetrate what this might mean!

So, with no real stand-out there's four for me to choose from, Mask Search, Greenway, Monocard and I've Seen Them Come. It might be because it's lockdown 2.0 and the fact we've barely seen the sun for three days but I'm very much in Monocard mood.