Album Review: The Mono LPS Bring Garage Youth To “States Of Decay”

The Mono LPs will release their newest album States Of Decay On November 3, and here is why YOU should be excited. This Liverpool band may define themselves as post-rock, but if you ask me or their biggest fan, Elvis Costello, they are more “poet-rock”. They have the poetic wonder for life that is in full bloom when you are young, and have the grit and felt invincibility you would find in what I call “garage youth”.

What is “Garage Youth?”. Well, it is how I describe particular music, i.e. garage band, and the disgruntled youthfulness music can carry in their sound. Throughout States of Decay, you just feel like there was an unforced approach to music. Like a bunch of friends gathered in one of their friend’s garages, there is an untethered, unfiltered beauty to States of Decay. Although, when some think of “garage band”. they think of chaos or unseasoned musicianship, that is far from the truth of The Mono LPs. The anarchy of their music is oddly planned and clear like, a batch of angsty advocates that have decided to put all their needs and wants from the world in formal letters. This may sound like a humorous analogy, but when you struggle between love and hate it can feel like chaos, but it can be organized and expressed through art. Something The Mono LPs have shown through this record.Hence, my “poet-rock” reference, is to note the prodigal genius of Mono LPs like a young man writing sonnets in his notebook before he becomes Shakespeare; they have the frenetic. active energy of blossoming creative spirits. 

Alright, I know I am using a lot of vivid imagery and references to describe The Mono LPs, but their compositions are so dynamic, they become visionary. You can literally see the images I have described when you hear their songs such as “I Don’t Love You” and “Giving It Up”. Ste Reid has the rocker vocals that hold the dirt of pain; not just its vulnerability. The difference is that he is not only trying to be open about his struggles with love and hate, in both relationships and the world, he is also trying to show how dirty a process it can be. When you try to find love in you and your surroundings, it is not an easy goal or journey. Thus, their heavy guitar riffs and drums show the internal weight we all feel when we search for love, and find it is in States Of Decay.  

There are several factors that make The Mono LPs States Of Decay a fantastic record, like the one cinematic ones I have given above. Yet, the most important one comes in terms of its marketability. Rock is not always easy to sell because its rebellious nature and sonics are, unfortunately, not always deemed “radio friendly”. Yet, States Of Decay is a rebel record that could easily be placed on the radio, television, or film. Because of its visionary lyrics and chord arrangements, their songs seemed destined to be the soundtrack for when your favorite tv character goes through an “angsty breakup” like “Watch The Games You Play” or if  your fave protagonist is about to be seduced by someone with “Cherry Red Lips”. Either way, their record is destined to appeal to any Millennial or youthful generation that feels like an unconditioned/ unlimited poet readying to write their masterpiece on love. For More Information On The Mono LPS and To Buy States Of Decay On November 3 Click Here