To say that Live in Japan is an especially crooked Monotract release is no small statement, as the New York trio have always been purveyors of a confounding sound. At once a rock band, noise unit, and free improv troupe, Monotract find ways to irrevocably wrinkle any style they appropriate, and, in doing so, create the free-flowing mélange that is the Monotract sound. As non-native speakers of a language often retain tendencies ingrained by their original language to create their own idiosyncrasies within their adopted tongue, Monotract, no matter what they’re playing, do so with a distinctive accent, paying no mind to what sounds right or wrong to anyone but themselves, mining an ore indigenous only to the minds of Carlos Giffoni, Nancy Garcia, and Roger Rimada.
Live in Japan documents the 2002 jaunt that Monotract made through Japan, and features a side of their sound that’s distinct within the scope of the band’s oeuvre. Perhaps because flying and/or traveling with too many guitars and drums would’ve been tenuous, the tour seems to have been heavy on electronics, brimming over with crunch, crackle, and sizzle. It’s some of Monotract’s most inorganic music, robust and unintelligible. But, as usual, Roger, Nancy, and Carlos find room within the crowded mix for a rhythmic base, and much of Live in Japan (and most of the disc’s best tracks, at that) are built upon beats. But, whereas other artists in their position might use a well-defined beat as a familiar anchor upon which to moor their wilder meanderings, Monotract make it another conflicting voice within many, creating music that’ll initiate head bopping and ass shaking as surely as it’ll serve up a healthy helping of cognitive dissonance.
A new release on Ecstatic Peace! due this summer promises variations on the drums/guitar/electronics line-up Monotract have been showcasing lately, and, if the live set they played at No Fun Fest 05 is any indicator, will likely contain more beguiling mishmashes than the ones on this disc. Live in Japan, though, isn’t an ugly, forgotten sibling, and whereas Monotract’s last live document ( a 2001 cdr on Freedom From) didn’t do the group justice, this disc comes close. When learning a new language, the full immersion method is always best. This disc may offer only a few of the dialects within Monotract’s native tongue, but it’s still mandatory homework for any of their serious students.
