Photo Credit: Trini Cromie
The Monks of Mellonwah debut album Turn The People doesn’t come out until March, but you can hear the whole album at Bandcamp (embedded below for your convenience).
The album’s 13 tracks showcase the Sydney band’s indie/electro/alt-rock style. They mix slightly distorted vocals with rock guitars and pulsing drums and tremolo effects (which adds a little electronic feel to the songs).
I like how prominent the bass line is in “Alive For A Minute,” a subdued prog-rock track that comes alive around the 1:50 mark.
I think the album loses steam in its latter half: a few tracks like “Sailing Stones,” “Downfall,” and “Afraid To Die” sound too similar upon first listen. Narrowing Turn The People down to 9-10 tracks instead of 13 could have made the album even stronger.
Highlights of the album include the simple (just vocal and electric guitar) “I Belong To You,” the single “Tear Your Hate Apart,” and “Ghost Stories,” which perhaps best combines the band’s influences into a solid sonic statement.