Friday, February 03, 2012

Monocyte and Digging into the Beast: A CD Review

*full disclosure: an online copy of this CD was provided by Menton3 or their associates.

If the comic book "Monocyte" ever received an animated theatrical treatment, and the producers are stuck as to who should create the soundtrack, not many musicians will be up to the challenge. DJ Shadow and Portishead’s style is appropriate, and that's where this music gets its inspiration from, but others may not live up to conjuring forth the same surrealistic imagery created by artist Menton3.

Appropriately enough, he also has a band, Saltillo; the music they create invokes feelings of trooping down the carnal remains of the beast whilst guarded by an angelic maestro.

The album is simply called "Monocyte." The project is described as trip-hop electronic meets violin and cello. Easy listeners may think more of it as symphonic meets industrial electronica. The acoustics certainly conjures forth imagery of strolling through techno-organic matter. If there’s ever an engineer to design a cathedral where it incorporates the bones of a whale with rebar to keep the structure from falling apart, the resonance from such a venue will no doubt be unique.

The music shines on a surround sound system. “Proxy” has a spectral quality nestled within the surround tracks and “If Wishes Were Catholics” has a Hindu musical-like mysticism playing around a grunge beat. Menton3 shows that he can mix any style of music with a techno rhythm. Some of the tunes work, but for others, it’s a hard sell. One example is “The Right of Action.”

“Forced Vision” is a gentler and more traditional symphonic score, with a voice track of what may be the Olignostics intoning their visions to the listener. Two other interesting songs include “To Kill A King,” where a wind instrument is used in the intro. But the standout tune is “Veil,” a track that conjures forth visions of drifting through the Twilight Zone, especially with its Jazz inspired opening. The siren-like vocal by Sarah Matthews is the highlight.

When considering the type of musical journey that Saltillo is creating by mirroring the comic book, the names of these songs are highly appropriate, and it does help guide listeners to the story that is unraveling in the comic book that both he and Kasra Ghanbari have created. Avid readers can certainly play this CD while reading the "Monocyte" comic book, and become fully immersed in the universe.

Overall: 7 out of 10.

More details on the CD are here:

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