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The Monorail:
A Whole New City EP
Any good SimCity fan knows that urban planning is no small undertaking. Organization is key there must be a clear, clean-cut layout that is both logical and easy to understand. And, though everyone wants their city to be the latest and greatest, those responsible need to know when and where to draw the line. When The Monorail began building A Whole New City, their recently re-released EP, the quartet may not have known quite what it was getting itself into. The idea was ambitious. The group aimed to construct a metropolis combining Rick James with The Clash; as the press release explains it, a city where shoegazing is an unheard-of practice and indie-rockers can actually dance. A noble plan; but the end result isnt quite the place the blueprints promised. A Whole New City has taken on too much. This is clear by the end of the first song, the tellingly titled Busy Mess Stress Test, in which vocalist Andy Matchett readily admits that wanting more than I need is my destiny. Consequently, the four-minute track contains seven or eight dramatically different sections; the sound switches from college rock to punk to a beachy, Sugar Ray-ish groove. The multiple and inconsistent rhythms dont lend themselves to the nightclub atmosphere The Monorail was striving to create. The EP hits its low midway through on The Shizampah, a mess of screaming and strangely mixed genres; this is how the city looks when its sanitation workers go on strike. Luckily, The Monorail literally get their groove going on the next song, The Club, which is perhaps the most coherent of the bunch. Heres where the dance floor comes in, and it lasts through track five, Writing Has No Volume, which is jam-packed with bass and some standout solos. The final track proves that old habits die hard; but the good news is that if this brand of funky, indie-dance music is the ultimate goal, its also the bands strong suit. With a bit more focus and hard work, The Monorails next new city should be a nice place to live.
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