monster movie cdep
Prepare to be washed away. The music contained on this EP will certainly change your minds about that whole Britpop franchise. Monster Movie has brought something strangely familiar to the table. Dense, scary songs that give the finger to the current musical landscape that screams of number one hits, glossy production, and the need for a video. These are songs to be played in your mind, tunes that bury themselves deep within the darker recesses of your psyche.

People speak of how great My Bloody Valentine was. Well, they truly were an exemplary group but they never got around to do anything after Loveless. Monster Movie not only picks up where that sonic fury left off, but it continues to mold the style in an ever-changing and twisting mix of shoegazing buzz and haunting melody. Comprised of Christian Savill and Sean Hewson, Monster Movie's seeds were sown back in the groups known as Eternal and Slowdive. If you're unfamiliar with those groups, don't worry. The music on this EP will snatch you right up from the first note.

The opening "Crash Landing" is easily one of the best examples of dronepop that I have heard in a long time. As the sheets of guitars fall freely, the vocals wrap up everything in a nice melodic package. The story of the snowstorm depicted in the verses adds a sharp stab of dense lyricism that wreaks equal majestic havoc with the music. "Where you gonna find me?" pleads the chorus. As the guitars scatter into a phased effect, we are only left to feel loss albeit in a beautiful sense of the term.

"Every Time I Wonder" shifts the landscape slightly, offering a catchy and remorseful pop tune filled with all sorts of shimmering sounds coming from what, exactly? Are those keyboards or guitars set up to sound like keyboards? It's hard to tell when the notes ring out like a bell and then dissolve into dense white noise and then are silenced completely to give way to the acoustic and electric guitars. Sheer sonic bliss. Bliss quickly drowned in the creepy, slightly psychotic tones of the instrumental "Rovaniemi". The first time I heard the track, I was sitting in my car at a long red light and kept looking back in my rearview mirror at the empty road behind me. I was transfixed by fantasies of the slowly approaching traffic turning into some sort of monster that would swallow up everything in its path if that light didn't turn green soon. Closer the cars came, louder the music built. And then the light went green and I narrowly escaped. As I said, this is music to imagine with.

Then back to the placid and calmer soundscapes offered up by "Street Lights". Strummed reverberating guitars and more lyrics about forgetting. Close your eyes and see the hotel that is mentioned in your mind. Is it run down? Is it ritzy? Is it from 50 years ago or now? The song roars and purrs all at the same time. Transfixing the listener with its hypnotic qualities. There's the tune folding into a piercing note of feedback and then returning to its wash of droning six strings. But the clearest moment comes in the closing number "Ooby" where the production suddenly opens up a crack and the notes are allowed to float through the air. It's as striking as anything else here. This is pure music unburdened by any flights of fancy or starstruck ego.

Accordingly, Monster Movie will be releasing its first full-length album later this year. If this EP is any indication of what the group can ultimately do, then the album will certainly be essential. After the final notes of "Ooby" fade, we are only left with wanting more. Five songs just wasn't enough. The EP is successful and has mesmerized us perfectly. It's something you should own if you enjoy being literally moved by your music. I know I do.

reviewed by: Jason Thomspon for PopMatters

If you were as lazy about your music as I was in the early 90's, Slowdive was one of those bands you took for granted. Miss a show on the tour? No problem-- catch them next time. Short on cash on the day Souvlaki came out? Not to worry, just pick up the inevitable interim EP. They were a fixture. And good to boot.

Well, now they're gone, just like that mom and pop grocery you always meant to support but seemed to usually pass over in favor of the wide aisles and new carts of the megalopolis Shop-N-Spend. And now that you've gotten over Mojave 3, you're suspiciously regarding this slight eponymous EP with the headache-inducing cover on the underexposed label. Fear of the unknown. Serves you right.

But fear not, slack-ass, fair-weather fans! Featuring Slowdive refugee Christian Savill paired with Sean Hewson of Whip, Monster Movie is a winning blend of mush and melody. As far as quality goes, there's no broken stride-- just a really, really long delay. Mid-tempo all the way, but more classic pop than shoegazer, Monster Movie aims to please. Only the muddled production has any chance of repressing these sweet, balloon-like songs. "Crash Landing" begins with that Catherine Wheel feel, at least in the chord progressions if not the saccharine croon of the vocals. "Time travel makes you crazy/ Always skipping through time/ You're slipping through a snowstorm/ We got a silvery sky/ I wish that we could crash land again" sounds worlds better sung than in print.

The teacher's pet on Monster Movie is the perfect "Every Time I Wonder," whose metronomic beat recalls early Guided by Voices. Elegant, textbook song structure consummates in a sonic doodle drone that subverts the expectations set just a couple of minutes earlier. The simple, plodding pop of "Street Lights" masks a tender melody that will dog you daylong. Make the mistake I did-- that is, listening to it on the morning commute-- and it'll still be with you as your lunchtime hum-along. Each song flaunts keen melodies, reminiscent of Oasis' Beatlerobbing, but without the arrogance. Or perhaps just with more appreciation.

The exception to all of the above is the nightmarish interlude "Rovaniemi." Here, Monster Movie ventures into sonic landscape territory. The kind of oppressive dream-out-of-control that twists up the cerebral cortex and toys with the collective unconscious. As a mood piece, it does the job nicely. As a companion to the rest of the disc, it seems a bit out of place.

At the dawn of this project, on this debut release, Monster Movie is put in the unenviable position of having a legacy. Will they ever fit into the hand-me-down clothes of Mojave 3? With Slowdive bassist Nick Chaplin waiting in the wings for the appropriately theatrical moment to step forward and lend his talents to Monster Movie, odds are good.

reviewed by: John Dark for Pitchfork

Listening to 'Monster Movie' doesn't leave you completely scared out of your wits and too frightened to go to sleep without checking under the bed first, it does however fill an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon with a good dose of guitarpop, effects, and a bit of old fashion shoe gazing. 'Monster Movie' is comprised of duo Christian Savill and Sean Hewson, both of whom previous played in 'Eternal' who released one single with 'Sarah Records'. Christian may also be remembered for the part he played in 'Slowdive' previously signed to 'Creation Records'. Eponymous EP isn't going to excite or please everyone, but it's safe to say, it will get the odd foot tapping from those who like soft tunes with simple melodies.

reviewed by: Probemusic

For those of you who aren't familiar with Clairecords, they're the label that's kept shoegaze pop alive in the states these last few years. And, this release stays true to the path... In my opinion, the duo, consisting of Christian Savill (Slowdive) and Sean Hawson (Eternal), have delivered the goods on these five little ditties, especially when one considers the fact that the members didn't play the instruments that they were most familiar with. Each song differs from the next, and yet the EP flows seamlessly. Catchy, melodic tunes meld with effects-laden guitar drones well to create a total listening experience.

reviewed by: The Intergalactic Frontline

Featuring former members of Eternal and the very successful Slowdive, UK duo Monster Movie gives us an ep’s worth of droning, shoegazer space pop just when we need it most. Excellent all the way around-great songwriting, singing, production, etc. I really don’t have much to say about this. They sound like wussies, but in a battle of the duos, I bet they could whoop Local H’s asses (but not Queens of the Stone Age, ‘cause they have knives hidden in their beards).

reviewed by: Jeremiah for Action Attack Helicopter

Only in Britain could a pair of musicians record and release a set of lethargic, snoozy, jangly guitar noises and strumming and still somehow create a remarkable intriguing debut in the process. Monster Movie, who are not so nearly as scary or hokey as their band name might suggest, are made up of Christian Savill (who played guitar in Slowdive at one point, which is our historical name dropping for this review) and Sean Hewson. The pair had actually played together a decade ago in a band called Eternal and finally reformed in 2000 to create Monster Movie. This five song EP is the fruits of their labor and it turns out that this is quite a good introduction to the world.

The band's style could be pigeonholed into the style that has lately been referred to as "snorecore" as the music tends to cast a very sedate atmosphere. Monster Movie begins with a jangly, smoothly strummed guitar base and then overlays everything with layers of feedback, distortion, effects and other sounds that would be jarring if it were Fugazi, but this is not Fugazi. Instead, the effects and weird sounds are more similar to what Low might be doing. The vocals are dreamlike and serene. There is also a tendency to somehow throw pop into the mix and as a result you get somewhat plodding, distant songs that are catchy as hell, particularly the album opener, "Crash Landing". The songs tend to engulf the listener in sounds that are swirling and swishing, yet never offensive or harsh on the ear. The production creates a warm, glowing sonic quality that benefits the band greatly. In the end, this EP is a very nice piece of work that makes me hanker for a longer, full length album (that is theoretically coming out later this year). A recommended avenue of exploration for fans of Low, the more experimental Radiohead types and anyone who likes a serene journey within their rock music.

reviewed by: John Chedsey for Satan Stole My Teddybear