ALBUM REVIEWS

These Monsters CALL ME DRAGON BREW RECORDS 1.3.10 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk What is it about Leeds and noiseniks? Right now (and has been for a few years) Leeds is packed with noisy guitar bands. The usual tag is “experimental” but the usual distinction is that most of it is instrumental or the lyrics are no more than colour in the mix. That, and heavy, heavy riffs. Think Pulled Apart By Horses, That Fucking Tank, Chickenhawk, Castrovalva, Bilge Pump and Dinosaur Pile-Up – all from Leeds, all in the house styleee. These Monsters distinguish themselves with plenty of proggy guitar figures – little noodly guitar parts on top of the screams, riffs and distorted bass notes. They’ve got space to do that, with four members rather than the trendy three-piece line up favoured by most. The fourth provides saxophone and synth, meaning we get lots of squawking sax, ala Italian industrialists, Zu and light washes of keys. The whole effect is an accident in a time machine – drawing on seventies space rock and contemporary rifferama / screamo influences. One of the tracks tips the hat to that, adopting a Hawkwind title – “Space Ritual”. Tracks have a spacey length too, tending to the six minute-plus mark, giving time to space out while shaking your wig vigorously. Leeds is churning out a lot of talent right now, who are churning over a lot of riffs – this has a difference in the proggy colours they can make, standing them to one side of the competition. Ross McGibbon www.myspace.com/thesemonsters Email Links & Comments to the editor Check the latest album releases