30 Mar 09
Mono
(Wiki) | (Last.FM) | (Myspace)
Hymn to the Immortal Wind
[March 24, 2009] | [Temporary Residence Limited]
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6.3/10
Post-Rock is becoming a very prominent genre of music in the indie scene. As the 90’s held on to bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the 2000’s have produced bands such as God Is An Astronaut and Explosions In The Sky. But one band that has become a traditional post-rock band in every sense of the word that hasn’t been given the slightly deserved spotlight is Mono, a Japanese band that has been releasing some rather interesting records since 2001. Their music however, has never garnered the attention that other post-rock bands have received and for good reason. Their new album,Hymn to the Immortal Wind,has just been released but do not let the title of the album fool you.
The album contains only seven tracks but the total time of the album sticks with the old traditions of the genre, clocking in at over an hour’s time. What is especially intriguing about this record is the title, and would be what first grabs the attention of a curious listener. What you hope for though once you place your headphones on or turn up your stereo is for a mythical adventure, something that captivates you and frisks you away in nature’s air stream. As the record starts with “Ashes In The Snow”, a beautiful guitar driven ballad soaks your patient ears as beating drums kick in. The build up is intense and as the song comes to an end twelve minutes later, we find ourselves becoming immersed in the record, fascinated by the humming noise of an e-bow and gorgeous string arrangement. At this point, your hoping for an outlet for the music but it doesn’t come on the second track. All we get from “Burial At Sea”, the second track of the record, is a continuation of the first track in which we start to feel unenthused as we try to remain patient for a wind storm of music.
At this point, our mouths begin to water as if being tempted or teased by the last twenty minutes of build up composition but it still doesn’t come. Track after track, we are given a glimpse of what is to come and never given a peak to the music. As you sit in silence, hoping for something huge to come, the music starts to even soften that palette you had at the beginning of the record. It gets difficult to stay with the lyric-less story because of its boring ambient quality that never amounts to anything. There are signs of an uprising once “Pure As Snow (Trails Of The Winter Storm)” begins but once again we are left with an unquenched thirst after the track ends. Although the music carries a sense of beauty with every note, the lifeless quality it carries goes against the title of the album which is exactly the opposite of what it infers before you turn the record on. It’s a case of mistaken identity which ultimately hurts the album as a whole.
Hymn to the Immortal Wind does not contain any type of climactic event. We are left instead, with a one hour build up but the record doesn’t present the gift of a culmination at any point. It’s like we are left blown by a slight breeze in the air inside a sailboat that is sailing on a motionless ocean that doesn’t possess a single ounce of excitement. The album’s title is a mirage to the sound of the music that lies within. When you think of the term “Immortal Wind”, you think of exhilaration, passion, and even something that is interminable. Instead, this album leaves us wanting more and begging for a single ounce of a real musical storm.
-Eric
