It’s been more than 6 months after the band MONORAL released their third full length album VIA, but those eleven songs still remain on my player, and regularly being played. And by saying regularly, I mean, DAILY *grinning*.
I’m not usually like this actually, sometimes I only spend a month listening non-stop to a new album and the next month I already change my play list into another new one. But this album is just like a dope to a certain level.
Talking about this album, probably I’m not the best one when it comes to musically-speaking, because I tend to let my heart listens to the music rather than my brain, so practically I’m dumb in music business. So what can my heart say about this album?
Well, actually, it’s not a big surprise seeing the album content. It still has the same MONORAL-ism: “simple but has a rich uniquely flavor of melody and sound that tightly wrapping a thick emotional filling”. [ps: I wrote that ‘filling’ correct, I never meant to write ‘feeling’ there ^^V]
So basically, it’s another enjoyable ride on a ‘rollercoaster of emotion’ as listening to their new album VIA.
BUT, one thing I discover after listening to the album constantly, continuously and orderly couple of times, is that this album I think is their first album that has a frame on it. I’m not talking about the jacket or the cover album, but I’m talking about a concept here. So the whole song in it is kind of flowing to one another, describing the same story about ‘a journey’.
Opened by the line “Everybody’s got somewhere to go, how about you?” in the opening song, ‘Everybody’s Way’, a less than 2 minutes song, I guess the album frame is pretty clearly said.
This line actually stole my attention first time listening to the album. It made me set aside anything else I was doing back then, and focus my whole senses in this album. I must say this line, this song, is perfectly placed as the opening. It actually gives me a precaution also that this album has a possibility of containing chaining-songs.
Well, what do you know? As listening to the second song, ‘You’, that started with a very rocking guitar rhythm, and the line “there’s nothing new about you, but I’m still with you.” It’s pretty much like an answer to the opening song, telling you that, “Well fine! You still have no idea which way you’re heading to, you still the same old brand new you, but hell, I’m still with you, all the way, no matter what.”
So maybe this is what the album all about, maybe it’s a companion, a travel-mate in a journey to find the ‘You’. That’s what I thought and expected.
Heading up we have “Costa Rica”, as the third song, and I like the sounds of drum in the beginning of this song, pretty unique and somehow takes you to an exotic place. And thou I’ve never been to Costa Rica before, I’m sensing that this song is about miserable, a regret maybe, for not taking the right choice. Something that makes your life collides upside down.
Emptiness? Something like that I think.
But soon as I thought that the next song will be drowning me in darkness and despair, “Safira” came waking me out from the desperation. “Make your choice! Stand up, be brave!” or whatever it is, but it feels like a wake up call. This song is one of my favorite, although, I can sense a bit of Smashing Pumpkin’s 1979 in the beginning, I don’t know, I don’t read music note, so I don’t know whether they (MONORAL) chose the same chord for the opening, it’s only couple of notes I think, not the whole song.
So the choice is made in the fifth song, “Via”, a popish and catchy song so far after listening to four twisting sounds and music in the beginning. I like the how the sounds, the vocal and the vibe in this song, they’re pretty describing the whole story in this song: “I made it!”
What are you going to do if that happens? Exactly! Overexciting that almost makes you jumping out of the bridge doing the bungy, and that is what the song sounds like. You can never sing this song in a bitter and cynical tone while frowning. This song makes you smiling and laughing and it feels like, “finally you have made a choice to embrace the world, and ready to dare.”
I listened to this song over and over and over again while I was on the road and it felt so damn great. I screamed the whole lyrics silently as listening to it. And somehow this song made me enjoying the whole journey.
But you know what, no matter how brilliant your choice is, obstacles are there, ready to block you from breaking through, and that’s when you need assistance, a guardian that rises up in the sixth song, “Guards of Mice”
First time reading the title, I thought, “whoa!!! Are these two guys writing a song about the John Steinbeck’s ‘Of mice and men’?” That’s not impossible, but…. “do they read?” Whhoo!!!! No offense but I just cynically thought it’s impossible *grinning*
Anyway, as I listened to the whole song, I thought this might be telling about the book… neah, but it seems like that actually.
And yes, those obstacles are there, and thou there are guardians around you, somehow the feeling of loosing yourself will always be there no matter how small it is. It breaks you, tearing you apart. But climbing the “Everest” would be so much easier if you do it together, with friends, partners, whatever you'd call them. Sometimes you fall, sometimes you have to stop, sometimes you must climb up again, but when you reach the top of the hill, there’s nothing more incredible as sharing those feelings inside with your partner. That’s what “Everest”, the seventh song is all about, that everything will be much lighter and easier when you have a friend to share, to help and to lean on sometimes. Two heads are better than one, right?
And for this song, I like the idea of bringing the vocal to the foreground. The vocalist’ voice is pretty unique and this song shows it off nicely. This is the catchy part of the song actually.
And being in the shadow is never been the easiest part in this life. It actually what holds your feet from moving on and you have to make a choice to cut the rope or else you will stand still. “Sun Shadow”, as the next song, somehow reminds me of Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’, I don’t know why. This song is in my top list favorite from this album. It gives me the same kind of feeling when I first listened to “Kiri” (a single from the previous album, Turbulence). I like the harmony here.
Again, a decision is made. History will always be something to remind us how precious life is, and the journey is just started. No matter how crazy things might be on the road, somehow when you reach the final destination, everything will be nothing but beautiful. That’s “Casbah” is all about.
And I am so freaking hip about this ‘arabic metal’, as they described, because it’s damn rocking. The music, the vocals just blend in perfection and just when I got really high, it stops right there and leave me breathless. Damn.
Thou I hate the next part because the song suddenly drastically change to another ballad, I like the idea of “I Don’t Mind”, it seems telling you that, “who cares whether I’m going to be hit by a train or crashed into pieces, I would still grab the chances, dare all the challenges to create my own world. That’s what makes me content, period.” *smiling*
I like that. I love it actually.
So the end is here, and “Sometimes” is a great song to summarize the entire journey been through.
This is my most favorite one actually. I really love the music, the sounds and how the emotion comes out here. Pretty emotionally relaxing, I must say. This song seems like telling you that whatever happen, whatever uphill and down you have been through, you will always own this shoulder to lean on, just to rest your bones for a while before heading back on the road, no need to say a word just lean on and surely will try to sweep away all the burdens inside. Damn!
And as listening to it, it feels like you have found the best partner in crime in the whole world that would stick with you no matter how crazy and frantic you might be.
I really like the idea of putting this song as the ending of this album because somehow it seems like a closing but actually it’s just the beginning. It makes you unconsciously thump the play button again as the CD stops rolling and takes another journey. Over and over and over again.
So that’s VIA (the album) to me is all about. This is why I describe it as “a (mind) journey via heart” because somehow, it’s another rollercoaster of emotion created by two lovely gays (oops!!!) I mean GUYS *grinning* kidding!!!
An album that suits any kind of journey you’re into. It offers nothing but a joyful ride of life, a life-adventure that you yourself ever created; any life adventure to be underlined here. And this album acts as a friend, a travel-buddy, a partner in crime, an assistance you might say or whatever you want to call ‘something/someone that stick with you throughout the journey’.
Well, want to experience a blastful emotional journey??
What are you waiting for? Grab (or in this case I mean, Ship) the album and enjoy the ride!
try these sites:
www.cdbaby.com
www.cdjapan.co.jp
need samples?
try this one: MONORAL-VIA
or just visit the official myspace to get a clue
cheers!
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MONORAL are Ali Morizumi (bass) and Anis Shimada (vocal)
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