Search - I Monster :: Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars

I Monster--An Ear's Best Friend

L. Albrecht | 04/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you were to ask me to define I Monster, you would have to give me a little extra time to properly delve into it. Progressive rock is the "clinical" term ascribed to sum it all up, but that is far from doing it justice. Fun, explosive, tingling at times with retro nostalgia (or simply tingling), electronic, poppy, haunting, or even a bit ragtime. No category of sound is safe from the likes of Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling, the two responsible for this spectrum of craziness, and yet, there is consistency in all of it collectively that is simply identifiable as "I Monster."



A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars, their new album, was set to be released on March 16th in I-tunes form. It appeared to be a palatable, mouth watering assortment of songs, several of which were my favorites since before the album was released. My attention was brought to it immediately and my excitement grew as the day when I could finally have a listen drew nigh. Upon its arrival, I wasted no time. I found the album online and I played those tracks as though the world depended on it. My reactions were as follows:



The first track, The Circus of Deaf, caught my curiosity and at once drew me in to waddle in the shallow end of this album. My great grandfather and his brother both began the Albright Bros. Circus and this heritage makes me fall for anything that conjures up images of elephants and juggling clowns on unicycles. It's a three ringed circus that eventually crumbles as the sounds collapse around themselves, falling away to reveal the next track, A Sucker for Your Sound. A Sucker for Your Sound proudly displays the vocals of Philly, who also sings the album's first two of the slow and thoughtful Sickly Suite tracks. Poppy, smooth, sexy, and definitely one that will guarantee the need to dance.



Cool Coconuts was played on the radio show I have at my campus. Slow, steady, jazzy, and extremely easy on the ears, I Monster really captures the sleepy image of a man who's so ready for a vacation spent away from the dreary monotony of his life, he can almost taste it. As I went deeper into the album, I encountered She's Giving Me The I. This has been my favorite since I first heard it on their Myspace about a year or so ago. This I also played on my show and thought it was a great song to use as a way of leading anyone into I Monster's music. As it turns out, it was well received by one of the girls who had listened and wrote part of the lyrics for her Facebook status. I love the perception of the character in this song, which I imagine is a misguided soul whose misconceptions about a girl drive him to obsess over her. It's slightly eerie with lyrics like "I'd like to take you to the park and stay `til you're silent," and with this comes a tinge of sinister. Maybe it's just me, but it's a bit sexy too.



Dear John reminded me of a collaboration between the Beatles and Madness, thus thrusting it onto the "this is awesome" list. Other songs, such as Inzects and Inzects part 2: The Mutations, tickle me just for the fact that the track names were set up so playfully. Definitely 80's sounding industrial pop, a lot like Devo. With the hollow electronics and repeating vocals, these are pure dance tracks.



The second to last track, A Pod is Waiting, is an oddly colorful kaleidoscope of manic depression. The song is basically an elatedly cynical reflection on the end of life that eventually ends in a tangled swarm of terrifying sounds and to-the-point logistics. The message: "when your time has come, it's come. What you've done is all you've done. It's gone, yes it's gone." The final track, The Best, is a cover of Tina Turner's Simply the Best using the vocals of a Stephen Hawking-like computer exclaiming so eloquently its enamored devotion to the love of its life. Although a little cheesy of a concept, I Monster manages to pull this track off as a good finish to the album. The vocals are carried very well by the music, which conveys the warmth of smitten giddiness that the computer, with its cold and inexpressive exterior, might be feeling on the inside.



A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars had charge, charm and a personable touch that makes one feel like they're amongst good company. The attitude it projects is reminiscent of British retro pop sprinkled with post punk (and a little circus). I'm a fan of the musical talents I Monster loves to love; classic, revolutionary bands like Sparks, Magazine, Devo, and the Electric Light Orchestra. These guys know good music, which is why I trust that when I lend my ears to them, they will treat them right. Playful in some parts, soulful in others. You'll laugh, you probably won't cry, but either way, you'll feel something. After this listen, I'm going to say that this is one of my favorite albums I've heard this year."

...simply the best!!

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 04/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"UK Alternative/Electronic duo I Monster's new disc, the brilliantly titled "A dense swarm of ancient stars" opens with the sound of a marching band Circus tune "The circus of deaf", before getting into the music proper. I fell in love with their 2001 single the Trip Hop "Daydream in blue" (oddly sampled by Lupe Fiasco for his "daydreamin") so I knew I was in for a wonderful experience.



What we get is an eclectic musical palette. "A sucker for your sound" is a bouncy Pop affair with female vocals (Philly, giving it an almost Amy Winehouse feel), while the stomping "Goodbye sun" (with some slight vocodered vocals) sounds beatles-esque. "Cool coconuts" is a lilting Jazzy ballad that conjurs imagery of lying on the beach sipping from a coconut. "Lust for a vampyr" starts off as a gentle ballad featuring Philly (her vocals are layered to sound like a chorus of females) before transforming into an upbeat clap-filled horn peppered song.



"She's giving me the I" is a creepy sounding song with kooky lyrics and fleeting disembodied sounding horns fleeting in and out. "Escape from New Yorkshire" is a groovy Disco-tinged Bass and Brass-heavy song with loads of horns and few vocals. The live sounding "Dear John" is a bouncy Beatles-esque song. "Inzects" sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to some cartoon. Next come the trio of songs comprising the "Sickly Suite"; "Sickly Suite Part 1 How Are You?" is a delicate lullaby-like ballad featuring Philly, "Sickly Suite Part 2 Out Of The Shadows" is a quivering psychedelic sounding ballad with ELO-style harmonies and Philly again on lead, while "Sickly Suite Part 3 Gone" is a brief dreamy ballad.



"A pad is waiting" is a delightful slice of retro Pop, and closing is a masterful surprise, a re-working of Tina Turner's "The best" which I confess I did not recognise at first. A fuzzy riff set to gently plodding beats and a robotic drone narrating the lyrics as though it were a newscast from Mars with dramatic musical flourishes. Brilliant! This is how covers should be done, totally transforming the original or why bother?



Definitely one of the best albums of the year!"

Amazing!

C. Kramer | Los Angeles, CA | 06/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't like ADSOAS quite as much as 2004's Neveroddoreven, but it is near-perfection nonetheless. With time, this actually might become my favorite album."