For all of you who wish that shoegazing would come
back in fashion, Clairecords presents Christian
Savill's (formerly of Slowdive) new band Monster
Movie. Unfortunately for all you Slowdive fans,
Monster Movie sounds more like Oasis than Ride.
Monster Movie's greatest strength is the way it
layers its guitars to create a miasma of sound, much
the way that the Kevin Shields copycats of the early
90s did. The problem lies in the fact that Monster
Movie doesn't really put it's own distinct feel in the
mostly hum drum strum and drone of this EP. Also,
unlike Slowdive, Monster Movie lacks the vocal
excellence to forgive any minor concession to formula.
Don't get me wrong, there are some fine moments on
this release such as the track called "Rovaniemi"
wherein a droning organ and guitar feedback commingle
to wonderful effect and "Street Lights" where they
steal a page from the Flying Saucer Attack playbook.
It just seems that when Monster Movie settle for doing
straight-ahead songs, they sound like Oasis fronted by
Noel Gallagher. When these guys decide to stretch a
little more, great things will happen!
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