AuthorMichael Bang of Tell Me Tell Me  An EP called “Malice,” cover art of a purple pig with dollar signs for eyes and a police baton, an artist photo of five chefs covered in blood? This band knows how to set expectations. Welcome to Modern Monsters! They play heavy rock halfway between Warped Tour and Lollapalooza.
The first sound you hear is the ripping bass that opens “March 3rd, ’91.” Taking on an enraging subject, it’s no surprise to hear rage in the vocals of Josh Weaver. The rocking yet funky rhythm section carves out different spaces for Josh’s voice to shine. He speak-sings crowd inspiring incantations, he screams his anger to the sky, and he wails out sing-along choruses. “Prism” rocks its way through desperation: “treading water ’til you drown can’t you find a way/treading water ’til you drown don’t let it slip away.” Thunderous anthem “Road to Nowhere” chronicles the misadventures of a narrator caught up with a femme fatale: “without warning she grabbed my gun/she’s the girl with the world in her hair/woke one morning and I was on the run/driving for miles on a road to nowhere.” The next track opens with the noises of demon summoning and radio tuning before the marching drum announces the cover you didn’t see coming if you weren’t reading the song titles: “White Rabbit.” The filter of their sound yields a strong yet lithe take on the classic, still acid fried but staged in a futuristic dystopia rather than a wonderland. The final track is a staple of their live show called “Greed Machine.” This metal grunge riff factory takes on avarice with rage and rawk, a fitting end to their slinky, heavy but flexible EP. 5/5 👊👊👊👊👊 See them live! Trixie Rasputin Presents Modern Monsters at Elbo Room in Oakland on May 18th with The Hot Takes and Tell Me Tell Me (which, full disclosure, is MY band!) TICKETS
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AuthorPranay Pareek @pranaypareek  Over the span of a decade, I moved away from home, across four different cities, on two sides of the planet. Each era with its own aspirations, tests, and friends. School friends, college friends, work friends. Good ones, best ones. Sometimes they left, other times I did.
And each time we promised that— we were just a text away, that we would speak on the phone more often, and we'd see each other again soon. Time slipped by. My life changed, their's didn't. Their lives changed, mine didn't. Distance didn't help, time zones didn't help. This song comes so close to describing so much of what I've felt this past decade: No matter how many times you leave, it never gets easy. A sinking feeling in your stomach the day before, but you have to pack your bags. Check in, carry on. You want to make it to the airport in time, yet you don't want to get there soon. One more selfie, one more hug, the last one before you head for security. Check in, carry on. By now, you probably have a few guesses on what the song is about. Good chance I've heard them play this song at their shows, but it never registered the way it did until I finally sat down with my headphones. First listen: "This is unlike any of their other songs" I love it. Second listen: "Hmm this is taking me to the same place Pinback's Seville or Oceansize's Meredith did" Uhh, I didn't expect it, but I guess I'm all locked in now. Third listen: "I need to read the lyrics" Wow, why do they speak to me so much? Fourth listen: "I hope their Bandcamp has a note about the song" "A song about all those friends we've made but left behind or outgrown. The ones that made huge impacts on our lives, and that we think of from time to time, yet haven't spoken to in years." (https://orbit17.bandcamp.com/track/helium-2) And it all made sense. What do I think about the song? Helium got me writing again. It made me think about what I want my voice to be. It's known that people often break down and cry when they view Mark Rothko's paintings. He once said, "I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions——tragedy, ecstasy, doom..." If a piece of art, when distilled to its essence, still carries a sense of emotion. If a piece of art moves me, haunts me, comforts me with the fact that I'm not alone in my experience, that is good art. Like this song. |
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