- Label: 'Friends Vs Records'
- Genre: 'Rock'
- Release Date: '27th September 2010'
Our Rating:
One of my mates refers to Dinosaur Pile-Up's music as 'comedy grunge.' I consider this to be rather reductive, although I can see what he's driving at. 'Mona Lisa' is a song about struggling on, living the poor life of instant noodles and no heating. The lyrics make stereotype-affirming references to age and death and expressions of angst, and are coupled with big, grungy guitars and energetic, Dave Grohl-style drumming (yes, before he went on to front that band who represent the acceptable, packaged face of rebellion, he was a remarkable drummer), but there's something in the delivery that's not stony-faced or borne of that painful sincerity one might expect.
On balance, it's perhaps fair to say that 'Mona Lisa' is more early Foos than Nirvana: despite having all of the classic 'grunge' elements in place, this is most definitely a pop song, and a decent one at that.