The name doesn't exactly say much, does it? Other than 'generic indie band' perhaps. Pitched as an 'alt/rock' three piece from Sheffield, on the face of it, there's not a lot to get excited about here. He music tells an entirely different story, and reveals a band with some quality material and a sound that is something to get excited about.
What begins as a fairly workmanlike chug 'n' swagger guitar riff with some brashly delivered vocals suddenly explodes into a driving, rousing chorus, before the song swerves sharply into surf-rock in the middle eight, and then really gets rowdy and takes off. Exhilarating, adrenalised rock 'n' roll, it's the sound BRMC could have achieved if they hadn't been so laid back and set on being nonchalant and cool.
'Into The Rows' is equally surprising, starting off like a fairly average slice of indie fare, before the distortion pedal goes on and the dense bass kicks in and transforms it entirely. Yes, The Monicans employ the tried and tested quiet / loud dynamic popularised by grunge, but they do it to such good effect. 'Into the Rows' builds to a squall of overdrive, the vocals swirling in reverb. Their MySpace page suggests they have other tricks up their sleeves, too, leaning toward a dense, mesmerising psychedelia in the vein of The Black Angels. Just goes to show you shouldn't judge a band by its name, I suppose.
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www.myspace.com/themonicans
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