Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
When I first encountered the new Mono album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind, I thought it was a new release from a different band named Mono: the UK duo responsible for a trip hop gem from the late nineties, Formica Blues. When I got over the disappointment that this wasn’t more downtempo electronica from a band that was great for their time, I did a little research and learned that this new Mono is a post-rock band from Japan. Because of my love for most things Japanese, I could not hold a grudge and decided to check them out…even though it wasn’t trip hop.
Their music is completely instrumental, but it’s very cinematic…I wouldn’t be surprised if they had already been solicited for the creation of a film score. Most of the songs start out quiet and build up to levels that only a full orchestra could accomplish. (And don’t ask me when they started adding drum sets and guitars to the orchestra lineup.) Hymn to the Immortal Wind is over an hour in length and five of the seven songs are over ten minutes, but they’re constructed in such a way as to not feel so long.
- Score
- 69%
Mono isn’t the same band that I thought I was getting an album from, but if you like instrumental music then you will probably also enjoy this album. And you can take comfort in the fact that you are part of the very small segment of the population that likes instrumental music…because I get the impression that there aren’t many of us out in the world.
