SPACE MONSTER

I love the crossover prog subgenre: You never know what you'll get when you start up that album. It almost seems like a catch-all when a band can't be labeled very well, and it even seems like this subgenre is growing rapidly. I think that's a good thing. However, sometimes bands are grouped into this label, not because they mesh genres flawlessly or because they have such great and unique ideas, but because the powers that be truly cannot figure them out at all.

Space Monster is one such band. This Canadian band plays a unique brand of prog rock, but by "unique" I mean "pretentious" and "annoying". Sorry, I had to say it. I started listening to their self-titled debut EP, and I thought my hearing was going. The first track is so chaotic, so messy, and so deliberately disorganized that I can't see how any human being could enjoy it. Now, I hope this was all deliberate because, if not, there are some serious issues that need ironed out soon. Everything from the horribly-mixed guitars to the punk-wanna-be vocals sound really bad. I mean, REALLY bad. Indeed, "Nonahedron" is one of the worse tracks I've heard in recent memory: No melody; no meaning; no music, even.

The album does get better as it progresses. While I can't point out any standout tracks, there are some cool ambient, spacey moments I really liked, and I have to give these guys points for the well-done sax later on in the album. In fact, some of the tracks even begin to resemble songs, though the mix and the musicianship is still below average.

Do yourself a favor and skip this EP. There are some interesting ideas here, but nothing to warrant your time. I reserve 1 star ratings only for the worst of the worst: those albums that I can't see myself hearing more than once or twice. This fits the bill, and it's a shame, too, because I kinda liked the artwork.