Monoganon - Songs to Swim To
Rating
RIYL
Frightened RabbitBright Eyes
Mumford & Sons
Bon Iver
Release Date
03/07/2011
Label
Winning Sperm PartyTracklist
01. Monomania02. Eternal See You Soon
03. Anatomy
04. Needle Green
05. Devil's Finger
06. Lullabies for the Sedated
07. To Glass in the Blast
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Another byproduct of the burgeoning Glasgow music scene, Monoganon are a vastly underappreciated new outfit who haven’t made much of a splash on this side of the pond. Resting at the crossroads between buzzy, reverb-laden shoegaze, earthy, organic folk and lengthy, sprawling prog, they almost inexplicably call themselves a “pop” band. But on some level, it works. Songs to Swim To is by no means a heavy album; it’s an unburdened, floaty, and sedate listen. The seven tracks that comprise it are songs to sway to. Songs to soar to. Songs to simmer to. Songs to sleep to. It’s the kind of music that leaves you feeling refreshed. They may not have the punch, the glitz, or the glamour of other recent UK hotshots, but Monoganon at their heart exude a simple, enjoyable pleasantness.
Opener “Monomania” is a strummy folk diddy with softened acoustic melodies against a bridge of sharp harmonica flourishes. In its own right, the first track is the proper “pop” song you’d expect given Monoganon’s self-description, but songs in a similar vein are a minority on Songs to Swim To. The following track, “Eternal See You Soon” is already more expansive and warm, more ephemeral and atmospheric. There’s a greater reliance on long instrumental sections, of artists exploring the space of the song, and there’s only more to come.
“Anatomy” washes in and out like waves. John McKenna’s quiet vocals are at first floating amongst layers of warbling, effect-laden guitar and steady drums, before being submerged under the swelling instrumentation. And then it recedes, expands, and crashes forth once more. “Needle Green,” on the other hand, doesn’t develop at all. It’s a sleepy, strummed song – accompanied by a crackling fireplace and a babbling brook – that sinks into an outro of drone.
The final three tracks incorporate more drone and dissonant noise, both of which start to mingle with the instrumentation in the foreground. Individual instruments and vocals bleed together, steeped in a warm and pleasant ambiance. At just over nine minutes, “Devil’s Finger” is a trance-inducing opus, whose distant, ringing dissonance is coupled with an up-tempo acoustic groove. It’s nine minutes you won’t know you spent. “Lullabies for the Sedated” sounds just like its name implies. The soporific track has the tempo and presence of a daydream, eventually devolving to a burst of disembodied sound. Closer “To Glass in the Blast” is another one that never develops, instead pulsing slowly and deliberately with fuzzy, foggy piano, bass and disembodied harmonies of vocals for the majority of its almost nine-minute duration. It’s a glorious thing, something akin to listening to a gaggle of angels passing a bong.
If you’re in the mood for something unobstructive, something down-tempo, something warm, earthy, and organic, Songs to Swim To is perfect. If you’re a drug addict in need of a fix, Monoganon are a whole bottle of barbiturates. But the band’s debut EP is much, much cheaper than drugs with a price tag of “Free.” So you have absolutely nothing to lose. Check out these Glaswegians, and get down with your sleepy self.
Comments
Lehigh Valley, PA
If they're anything like the RIYL I should dig it.