MONO & WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND: PALMLESS PRAYER-MASS MURDER REFRAIN

What happens when two leading Japanese Post-Rock acts join forces together?

This album seems to be one of the best Post-Rock ones from so fruitful year of 2006. It sounds very much like modern classic than your usual 'guitars build climaxes' Post-Rock album. 5 long movements, each corresponding to ones in Classical Music: 1st is a prologue, 2nd is an interlude, 3rd is a main theme, 4th is another interlude and 5th is coda. My favourite is definitely 'Part Three' with simply 3- chord harmony and captivating melodic line. It's so utterly sad and beautifully dark, I wish Id had this track played on my funeral...but will I care then? He-he, anyway, with strings and pianos attached MONO's music gains universal volume, it becomes so astoundly big and awesome, that it's hard tos it through the whole record at once (at least, for me). If only those tracks could have been a little bit, a little bit I insist, SHORTER, I would happily submit my max rating to this amazing album. Highly recommended anyway and don't dare to miss it!

This album is a collaboration between MONO and WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND. It's well thought of by Post-Rock fans so take my review with a grain of salt.The big negative for me is the way the mournful violins dominate the sound. And they sort of drone on and on without much variance making this a long and boring listen. Especially considering it's 74 minutes long ! Now to be honest we do get some piano, guitar and samples, but not much. I was reminded of GY!BE with the violins, but nothing happens here, it doesn't explode or change like a GY!BE album does. I really blame WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND who really seem to be dominate. I love MONO but I wouldn't even know they were on here if it didn't say so on the cover.

Enough complaining. "Part One" meanders until the violin come in around 1 1/2 minutes, a second one joins in that's just as mournful. Acoustic guitar comes in later. "Part Two" features mournful violin melodies throughout until they stop around 12 1/2 minutes as the wind blows in. It blends into "Part Three" where acoustic guitar arrives. Violins start to lead around 6 minutes. It's mournful again until before 15 minutes when it calms right down.

"Part Four" has not only melancholic violins but depressing vocal melodies too. Awesome ! I'm just going to run out in front of that bus now. It's more intense after 6 minutes. Piano only 9 1/2 minutes in and it blends into "Part Five" where violins come in around 1 1/2 minutes joining the slowly played piano. It starts to build though especially 9 minutes in as guitar arrives. It settles back before 16 minutes. That was the most exciting track right there and more typical of Post-Rock.

This might be more attractive to WORLD'S END GIRLFRIEND fans than MONO fans. I found that out the hard way.