Review Summary: This is where the ascent began.
As 2004 came along, Monoral got another shot at commercial viability.
In Stereo didn't meet expectations at the time, but then again it wasn't designed to. Despite that shortfall,
Ammonite became a moderately successful release, and an EP that began Monoral's attempt at being one of the premiere Japanese Alternative Rock bands. Unlike
In Stereo,
Ammonite was a more atmospheric release, featuring dips into genres like Shoegaze, Ambient, Synth-Pop, and Post-Grunge.
The strength's in
Ammonite lie in its better track list.
I am I am was a standout shoegaze track; featuring droning vocals and slow guitar work. The base of
I am I am was its biggest strength, as it equalized the overwhelming melancholy coming from the vocals.
I like it was a more ambient piece, having slow percussion emphasize the beginning with a basic Synth beep every now and again. Combining some slow vocals to the combination,
I like it created a nice atmosphere with its percussion.
Monoral also had tracks that mixed genres together like
Oh no! A track that mixed synthesizers and pop vocals with the guitar drone and commercial accessibility of Post-Grunge music. The same can be said of
So long, which can be seen as a mixture of Shoegaze and regular Alt-Rock. The problem with
So long lay in it's sudden jump from soft Shoegaze to bombastic Alternative Rock ballads. That kind of jump really hurt the ending of the EP considering it didn't match the atmosphere of the previous tracks before it.
Of course the title track
Ammonite deserves serious praise. It's combination of ambient synthesizers, slow guitar work, soft vocals, and creepy atmosphere make it the best track on the EP. It definitely ranks as one of my personal favorite Monoral tracks for the way the percussion adds so much power to such a soft tune.
Ammonite was the spark Monoral needed to kick themselves into high gear. It may not have been a huge game changer, but its moderate success helped the band gain a following that would continue to grow over their continuous releases. Its not hard to see why audiences found themselves attracted to its otherworldly qualities and mixing of genres in multiple songs. Critics were beginning to take notice as well, as Shoegaze began reaching commercial heights in late 2003. One could say it was a perfect time for Monoral, but it would get even better.
