Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind (Conspiracy Records)

I remember when I first saw (and heard) Mono, on their very first visit to the UK, back in 2003 supporting Kinski in the basement of Nice N Sleazy. In the aftermath of their blistering set I recall that my relatively naive take on them was that they were the band that could out-Mogwai even Mogwai themselves, with their ferocious, ultra-serious, highly-toned take on the quiet-loud post rock dynamic. While I'm sure that many detractors would see this a pithily accurate dismissal of what they do (and perhaps of the whole post rock 'thing' in general) I think that over the intervening 6 years Mono have proved themselves, by dint of sheer effort and hard-work alone, if nothing else, to be far beyond this initial misguided comparison. This, the band's 5th album proper, is released in their 10th anniversary year, an event that will be celebrated in New York in May with a pair of special anniversary concerts where the 4-piece Tokyo band are to be accompanied live by a full 23-piece orchestra. As befits such a celebration, 'Hymn To The Immortal Wind' is by far Mono's grandest and most epic achievement to date, a towering realisation of the band's musical vision and the last decade's relentless touring and development. As with their two previous albums, 'Hymn To The Immortal Wind' was recorded and produced by the band's long-time friend and collaborator Steve Albini, and his touch can be felt in the intimate live capture of even such a massive musical group. Enlisting the help of the aforementioned full-size orchestra, Mono have pushed their already massive, dynamic sound further than ever before, with soaring tremulous guitar lines multi-layered over huge classical orchestration, full of yearning heart-breaking strings and the ever-present feel of a melancholy slowly crescendoing soundtrack to the end of the world. Whilst none of these post-rock tropes (or, for the less forgiving, clichés) may be new, Mono's dedication and self-belief and their sheer vision and strength as epic instrumental composers and musicians carries them way beyond the clutches of their lesser peers, with a vast heart-felt and unsurpassed epic of an album that cements their place at the pinnacle of the post-rock canon.

'Hymn To The Immortal Wind' is released on Conspiracy Records (in Europe) on 24th March 2009.

Mono