Thursday 10 March 2016

Monomyth - EXO (Album Review)


Release date: March 18th 2016. Label: Suburban Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

EXO– Tracklisting

1.Uncharted
2.Surface Crawler
3.ET Oasis
4.LHC 09:46
5.Moebius Trip

Band Members:

Selwyn Slop
Sander Evers
Peter van der Meer
Thomas van den Reydt
Tjerk Stoop

Review:

Dutch Psych Space Doomsters – Monomyth – return with their third album – EXO. It sees Monomoth opt for a more laid-back style of music compared to their previous albums. This is the final album in the trilogy that they started with their S/T debut album and then continued with their second album – Further. EXO is perhaps their more experimental album to date. Their sound is more psychedelic with spaced out trippy noises being the main driving force here. Monomyth still include heavy riffs on the album though their not as heavy as past albums. That’s not a bad thing as Monomyth have always experimented with noise, tone and volume in equal measure.

Opening track – Uncharted – is a spaced out fifteen minute epic that starts very slowly before the band add different layers of noise, textures and drone based atmospherics. Fans of 80s synth music will find much to enjoy here as they’ve included some delicate synth based sounds. The loud Doom/Stoner guitar riffs come screeching in around the 11 minute mark and it turns Uncharted into a different song from the one it started from.

Second track – Surface Crawler – is vintage Monomyth with the band opting for a more guitar driven sound with psychedelic noises being added at different stages. Things turn slightly progressive as the band once again blends ambient based noises and heavy riffs for another spaced out opus.

Third track – ET Oasis – is my fave song on the album as it reminds of the classic synth TV/Movie soundtracks from the 80s especially Blade Runner as this song contains some haunting musical passages. The song contains the heaviest riffs on the album and Monomyth are in there element exploring many different sounds that they possibly can.

Fourth track – LHC sees Monomyth create ten minutes of heavy spaced out stoner sounds. The drumming is fantastic on LHC as the guitars slowly build upto a frantic pace that ends in a loud volume of noise that comes crashing down around you.

The final track – Moebius Trip – sees Monomyth finally play a straight forward Psych Stoner Rock song. Shame it’s the last song but it’s good to see the band return to their earlier sounds. If you dig the songs from their debut album then Moebius Trip will appeal to you the most. It’s a delicately played song that explores the many different genres that Monomyth have explored previously on EXO.

EXO is a psychedelic wonderland of Instrumental Rock. It may not be the loudest album that Monomyth have released to date but it’s definitely their most creative and adventurous work to date. A fitting end to a brilliant musical trilogy. Lets see what Monomyth come up with next.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Bart at Suburban Records for the promo. EXO will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Suburban Records from March 18th 2016.

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