Never content to follow a traditional path, Australian quartet Monks Of Mellonwah charts new alt-rock territory on their full-length debut, Turn The People.<\/i> The album itself is actually a collection of three EPs that the band released over the course of 2013 (plus one brand new single): Volume 1: Ghost Stories, <\/i>Volume 2: Afraid To Die, <\/i>and Volume 3: Pulse.<\/i> Meanwhile, the disc is a stylistic amalgamation as well, melding everything from \u201890s grunge to more straightforward classic rock to stripped-back folk, cut through with bursts of electronic and metal. \u201cAlt-rock\u201d is really too loose a term to encompass all that Monks Of Mellonwah is weaving together here, creating a seamless mixture by virtue of their anthemic soundscapes and the increasing confidence of frontman Vikram Kaushik. <\/p>\n
Turn The People <\/i>launches out with two choice cuts from Ghost Stories, <\/i>its slow-burning title track and the catchy, stomping \u201cVanity.\u201d The Ghost Stories <\/i>tracks, including \u201cSailing Stones,\u201d which appears later in the disc, have a more \u201890s alt-grunge feel \u2013 I likened the sound to an Incubus\/Bad Company lovechild in my original review (which though apt, is a terrible image). Guitarist Joe de la Hoyde is a phenomenal part of what makes this group sound so distinctive, whether he\u2019s holding things down with chunky riffs or letting loose on a caterwauling solo.<\/p>\n
Moving into a different space, lead single \u2013 and the album\u2019s sole new cut \u2013 \u201cTear Your Hate Apart\u201d is a standout. It reminds me of early era Muse, particularly with the haunting falsetto and the jittery, almost electronic feel of the guitars. The chorus is commanding as well: \u201cNice to know I\u2019ve failed you again \/ I\u2019m sinking, stumbling, I don\u2019t know the way \/ Nice to know you\u2019ll all be okay \/ My only question: what remains of me?\u201d <\/p>\n
Nearly every cut here is dynamic in its own distinctive way. Representing the Pulse <\/i>EP, which veers into more prog\/electronic territory, the title track has a lovely, rising energy. It pairs shimmering bursts of synths with light keys and an anchoring rhythm section, courtesy of John de la Hoyde on bass and John Baissari on drums. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, \u201cEscaping Alcatraz\u201d is an in-your-face punch of surprisingly melodic metal; it\u2019s explosive and propulsive, the intersection of guitars and brass burning like quicksilver as Kaushik pleads, \u201cDon\u2019t let me wash away.\u201d \u201cDownfall,\u201d from the Afraid To Die <\/i>EP, has a similar vibe with its swirling, pyrotechnic textures, and the harmonies are again reminiscent of Muse. <\/p>\n
But it\u2019s \u201cI Belong To You,\u201d another Afraid To Die <\/i>cut, that really mixes things up and stands unique from Monks Of Mellonwah\u2019s already singular sound. An evocative, bluesy ballad, \u201cI Belong To You\u201d is the softest moment on the record. Kaushik\u2019s vocals take on a tender lilt amid de la Hoyde\u2019s gently cresting acoustic guitar. Monks finds power in stripping away the bombast, and this track show a great range to their abilities. <\/p>\n
Turn The People <\/i>finds Monks Of Mellonwah integrating what would seem like a hodgepodge of disparate sounds and doing it both elegantly and enjoyably. This is a solid set of songs that not only rocks hard but also has the distinctive voice of a band exploring and growing into their sound. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":31792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[9186],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-43505","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-monks-of-mellonwah","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=43505"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=43505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}