Album Rating: 4.0

"atoma's new album is great and that has post-rock ties."



True



Anyway this still rules.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

watched them play these songs (minus the last) two nights in a row in Toronto/Montreal... the album really doesn't do them enough justice. Listening to the album again afterwards you appreciate it more

Album Rating: 3.0

I still haven't listened to the album in full, but that concert was fucking awesome.

Album Rating: 3.0

They did play older songs, and they opened the show with 3 songs from the new album. They ended with an older song, but I can't remember which album it was from.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

closed with Everlasting Light... only song that differed b/w the two nights was Follow the Map for Sabbath

Album Rating: 3.0

Finally had a chance to listen to the album in full. The songs are much different with the orchestra. I think I may have liked hearing them better live without the orchestra. Yeah, it's more of the same Mono, but I still really enjoyed it. Solid release.

saw Mono the other night, one of the best shows i've ever been to

Album Rating: 3.5

saw them last night in leicester cathedral. incredible. best musical experience of my life. the songs missed NOTHING without the orchestra. in fact they were so good it made me wonder why they bother with strings at all. legend was beyond incredible. ashes in the snow just overwhelmed me. everlasting light and pure as snow were the emotional epicentres of the show. phenomenal. nobody should miss these guys if they come near you.

Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off

in fact they were so good it made me wonder why they bother with strings at all.

Album Rating: 3.5

i don't think the strings take anything away from the album at all. the problem with the album is a lack of plucked melodies. it's all fast-strummed guitars blended together. the only memorable melody is the middle section in unseen harbor.

Album Rating: 2.5

they're so damn good live, well they were when i saw them tour for Hymn. I imagine they'd still be pretty incredible even if this album is a huge step down.

how much of a step down is it? I liked Hymn quite a bit

Album Rating: 2.5

I'm not sure. It's the same stuff, but it feels less meaningful, like they're just going through the same motions. However, I do feel like I'm starting to be one of those "jaded" post-rock fans, so maybe just listen for yourself. It's still the same lovable Mono, it just doesn't feel urgent like it used to.



by the way, I love love love Hymn, one of my favourite post-rock records.

I get what you mean by "jaded", I haven't been wowed by a new post rock release (other than that gybe album this year) since, well probably hymn. the genre is getting quite stagnant and dull, too many cookie-cutter crescendos and not enough true innovation.

might give this a shot, I dunno.

Album Rating: 2.5

based on what you just said, I don't see you enjoying this much more than I did. Still, give it a go, there are a couple worthwhile songs.

Hrmmmm

Album Rating: 3.5

this is not as good as hymn. i dont think that's a jaded opinion. this is a lot different to hymn so it's completely justifiable to say this is significantly worse. with for my parents mono changed from a guitar-driven post-rock band with dramatic tendancies... to an orchestral, dramatic soundtrack band with some post-rock tendancies. i think legend is one of the best songs the band has ever done, but if someone played me that song without telling me it was by mono, i would have assumed it's the soundtrack to steven spielberg's next world war 2 epic. for my parents is massive, epic, explosive and dramatic. it doesn't have any of the emotional downtime that hymn had. with hymn the songs built and built from quiet melodies. not anymore. for me there isn't any point listening to this album beyond the first track, because it never manages to come even close to topping it afterwards. also, with that style, one song is enough.



but seriously, legend live was so powerful. moved me more than any piece of music has before. that record lasted for about an hour. then ashes in the snow blew me the fuck away.



seriously though. im the kind of person who enjoys live music, but i never really let myself relax and absorb the music. im always too aware of the people around me and the things to look at, whats going on with the instruments etc. i get too distraced visually, or in my own overanalytical thoughts. i stand there thinking "this is great, i cant wait for the moment when i get overwhelmed with emotion" and then it never happens because im thinking too much. wasnt the case with mono though. probably the first time i didnt get a little bit bored or distracted during a gig.



this comment has gone on for way too long. see this band live. seriously.

Album Rating: 2.5

"with for my parents mono changed from a guitar-driven post-rock band with dramatic tendancies... to an orchestral, dramatic soundtrack band with some post-rock tendancies."



best description of this album that I've heard yet.



re: the jaded thing, I see what you're saying, and sort of agree with it, but I still say that if I had heard this 3 years ago I would have given it 4/5, easy

disappointing. loved their previous two.

Album Rating: 3.5

well in any case the fact that i love legend tells me that i can't be jaded or treating the album unfairly, otherwise i'd be negative about the whole thing. so in that sense i... trust my own opinion? if that makes any sense? lol. so because of that i'm fairly comfortable with admitting, as is my honest opinion, that this album is definitely not as good as hymn. tracks 2 through 4 are just slightly weaker attempts to replicate what track 1 already did perfectly well enough. you don't need an album full of epic war soundtracks, its tiring. track 5 is a little different because it goes whole hog on the orchestral theme, which i quite like. if you're gonna go orchestral then go all out on it. so at least they didnt do EXACTLY the same thing again for a fifth time. i'd say download tracks 1 and 5 and ignore the rest. some people might like tracks 2 and 4 because they have some heavy "post-rock" elements in the climaxes, but i just don't think that works anymore with their new sound. it's a bit of a clash. tracks 1 and 5 abandon post-rock almost entirely and it works for them.