Monster Movie
(Graveface)
Hard to believe that this London band has now been around for a decade. The duo of Christian Savill and Sean Hewson first got together in the Sarah Records band Eternal (who released exactly one 7" on that label, thus making them obscure legends on the indie pop circuit) and Savill had been in Slowdive as well, but they began as Monster Movie in 2000. This is full-length number four (several EPs under their belt, too) and with song titles like "The World Collapsed", "How the Dead Live", "Bored Beyond Oblivion" and "Down, Down, Down" you can probably tell this isn't a party band.
Incorporating a heady mix of fuzzy shoegaze ("Bored Beyond Oblivion", "Silver Knife"), oddball synth stuff ("Down, Down, Down", "Everyone is a Ghost"), crooked folk ("How the Dead Live", "A Place in the Mountains") and indie pop ("The World Collapsed", "In the Morning"), these two don't get lost in the sauce too often. Sure, there are a few bits of molten amp burnout, but on most of these 10 songs they keep the tunes compact and the melodies un-buried for maximum listening pleasure. Molten amp burnout? Maybe not such a bad thing after all.
Standout Tracks: "Silver Knife", "In the Morning", "A Place in the Mountains", "The World Collapsed" TIM HINELY
