Monastir
Good things never last
A West Side Fabrication
I was originally drawn to Scandinavian music because of the differences I was hearing in it, yet a lot of stuff coming out lately sounds distinctly like many other groups. That doesn't make it bad, but it kinda makes it difficult to wax enthusiastic about such music beyond saying "Yeah, it's decent." Take the latest record by Swedish rockers Monastir. It has some energetic guitar work, some big blustery rock vocals (with just enough distortion to give it a bit of edge), and a great production. The song "So defeated" has already charted, and several others here are just as good if not better. But, while I enjoyed this disc overall, it's not one I see myself coming back to often. It's sort of a made-for-driving CD, yet it falls short of being a classic. I do like the '60s-influenced harmony vocals melding with a modern indie sound and more than a little mid-period Who flavoring. There are some nice keyboard textures, especially on "I freak out on everyone" and "Echoes in my head", and any disc with a song that celebrates being "young and stupid" or that provides imbibing accompaniment like "Saturday night and I'm feeling alright/Gonna have me a drink or two...I don't really care about you," is gonna induce smiles, for sure. I would use the word "sturdy" to describe this: there are some okay melodies, but most of it kinda sounds the same, and there's little here not being done better by other groups. Monastir just didn't create much of a, well, STIR, for me.
- Kevin Renick