YOU ARE THERE

My favorite of the MONO albums, I very much admire their overall approach to the Math Rock/Post Rock sub-genre: full of power and emotion, thick atmospheres with stellar instrumentalism. The guitar is especially powerful for its out-of-the-ordinary "soloing" feel as the pick or fingers rapidly, rhythmically pluck a single string while a single note sustains an then slides up or down the same string. Very talented. Drums entering at the high 'crescendo' parts are strong and yet do not overpower the guitars. Electric guitars in these parts are often very distorted.

1. "The Flames Beyond the Cold Mountain" (13:29) (26/30)

2. "A Heart Has Asked for the Pleasure" (3:44) simple but pretty. (8.6666667/10)

3. "Yearning" (15:38) a long song that takes a few turns that almost lose me. As things begin to thicken and gain momentum in the seventh minute, I find the melodies quite satisfying despite the strings accompaniment sounding a bit like a Mellotron. Then the prerequisite calm comes at 7:30--but only briefly as the full wall of sound comes exploding back within 20 seconds--to great effect! I love the djenty low end (bass) and near-constant crash of cymbals. This tremolo guitarist is truly amazing! Then there is the unusual (for the Post Rock genre) prolonged comedown after the storm--a full two and a half minutes--to the song's finish.(26.75/30)

4. "Are You There?" (10:25) my first favorite Mono song. Such a starkly beautiful opening, two slow-builds and crescendos with another prolonged tender dénouement. (18/20)

5. "The Remains of the Day" (3:41) crowd noises and tremolo guitar in the background as child-like piano plays in the foreground. Very SIGUR RÓS-like. Beautiful if simple. (9/10)

6. "Moonlight" (13:04) gently tremoloed guitars with Fender Rhodes electric piano. Strings join in at the end of the third minute but they're a bit too uniform for my tastes--offering little that a keyboard couldn't provide. At 3:40 there is a return to the stark soundscape of two (or three) electric guitars interplaying. One goes tremolo while the other maintains the main melody and pace as the drummer begins to provide cymbal play. Female voice as if caught in a conversation in a café or kitchen appears in the background as drums and bass join in. The music is building as we reach the seventh minute--where the drums and orchestra issue full power (though not necessarily full dynamics). Walls of sound reach their fullest in the ninth minute but then the volume and power slowly begins to back off, one instrument at a time, until the tremolo-strumming distorted electric guitar is left as the main noise-maker. The main lead guitar maintains a constant dedication to the main melody to the end despite chaos and cacophony occurring in the genlty collapsing soundscape around him. Nice concept and construct though anchoring in that one melody for so long gets a bit monotonous. (22/25)

Total Time 60:00

B/sold four stars; You Are There is an excellent addition to any prog lovers' music collection.