Monno

2006 release (storage wear) ** Oversize booklet cover. The history of our music is arguably defined by a tendency to push things to the extreme—by the ability to transform what might once have been dismissed as mere flaws into genuine new qualities. These are the very qualities that a whole host of copycats usually latch onto, often to the point of suffocation. Let me reassure you right away: Monno are not among the copycats. Their music is saturated—in the truest "noise" sense of the word. Noise. Somewhere between Japanoise (Merzbow), harsh noise, and noise rock (a genre we know well at Stnt!). Layered over the classic noise rock formula (guitars, bass, drums... plus a sax) is an excess of distortion—digital, raw, and as abrasive as a tar-coated throat—which alters the genre's aesthetic (abandoning any concern for spatialization). Layers of distortion. They even achieve harmonic textures through distortion, having explored its full spectrum (though perhaps not quite to the extremes of Wolf Eyes). The album crackles and screams (it’s hard to tell if the fuzz and feedback are screaming, or a guy hidden beneath the noise, or even whether the sounds are human screams or a saxophone), and tears itself apart... Nothing escapes this treatment (not even the drums). Yet, for all its grittiness (or "filth," as others might call it) and violence, the music is also highly varied, catchy, and gripping—in a way that recalls the cult legends Zeni Geva. A real success. This is what the new album from their peers and fellow countrymen Shora *could* (or *should*) have sounded like—especially after their split release with Merzbow. The booklet (which doubles as the case) is excellent too: 28 pages of artwork with a strong "Basquiat" vibe—perfectly matching the music it accompanies.