By: Charlie Butler
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 18/03/2016
Label: Suburban Records
The quintet from The Hague deal in a potent brand of Hawkwind-style
space rock, driven by relentless krautrock rhythms, coated in a sticky stoner
fuzz. The band employs hypnotic
repetition to cosmic effect throughout the five tracks that make up new LP
“Exo”. The languid “Uncharted” begins the voyage, a minimal groove emerging
from a cloud of intergalactic synth squall.
The highlight of “Exo” though comes in the form of the hulking robotic
funk of “LHC”, a huge ten minute propulsive groove, powered by layers of
pulsing electronics and choppy riffs. Imagine Zombi covering the theme from
Knight Rider with a little help from Colour Haze. “Exo” is a compelling journey to the outer
limits. Monomyth will have no problems enlisting willing recruits to join them
on this trip to the beyond.
“Exo” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Uncharted
2).
Surface Crawler
3).
ET Oasis
4).
LHC
5).
Moebius Trip
The Review:
Most of the heavy psychedelic music I have
enjoyed recently has relied on ear-bleeding distortion and barely restrained
freak-outs. Monomyth offer a stark contrast to this,
taking a more measured and restrained approach but delivering the same
mind-expanding results. The quintet from The Hague deal in a potent brand of Hawkwind-style space rock, driven by relentless krautrock
rhythms, coated in a sticky stoner fuzz.
The band employs hypnotic repetition to cosmic
effect throughout the five tracks that make up new LP “Exo”. The languid “Uncharted”
begins the voyage, a minimal groove emerging from a cloud of intergalactic
synth squall. The track slowly unfurls over its fifteen-minute duration,
crafting an otherworldly atmosphere, worthy of fellow instrumentalists Grails, then shattering the calm with some crunching
riffage. The lack of super-heavy riffs throughout the rest of the album makes
their appearance here all the more powerful.
This lack of crushing heaviness is no bad thing
though. Monomyth are at their best when they bring
the keyboards to the fore, offset by overdriven lead guitar. The cosmic synth textures
of “Surface Crawler” and the warm,
organ-infused melodies of “ET Oasis”
offer strong examples of this combination. The dirty bass
throb that powers “Moebius Trip” creates
an almost glam stomp which evolves into a blissed-out jam. The highlight of “Exo” though comes in the form of the
hulking robotic funk of “LHC”, a
huge ten minute propulsive groove, powered by layers of pulsing electronics and
choppy riffs. Imagine Zombi covering the
theme from Knight Rider with a little help from Colour Haze.
“Exo”
is a compelling journey to the outer limits. Monomyth
will have no problems enlisting willing recruits to join them on this trip to
the beyond.
“Exo”
is available here
