Last month, Tel Aviv based duo, Mongar, finally released their first EP, Spectra Visions. I first experienced Mongar at a show at Koro back in November 2014 (see review). I say "experienced" because it's not just seeing them and hearing them but being amazed by how much creative musicianship can come from only two people.
As witnessed in the live show, Mongar, made up of Roman (guitar/effects) and Hagai (drums), play experimental, instrumental post/math rock. This record, although only 4 tracks, shows off their style pretty well, as well as showing their versatility.
The EP starts with the quite bluesy sounding Sheriff Goodman. With its twangy guitars, steady drumming and a few "spacey" effects, it has the potential to be a theme tune to some sort of sci-fi Western. Whereas Sheriff Goodman has very much a set style and even theme to it, the other three tracks on here lean towards the 65daysofstatic/Alright The Captain style of experimental instrumental music. They all still stay quite futuristic and calming despite a few shots of heaviness.
Doklyn is a trippy track that experiments with time signatures and rhythm patterns. It's relaxing but gets more punchy as it goes on. Zoltar and Chocky are more metallic, with the former fusing doom-like blasts with smooth electro and samples and the latter taking more from the Meshuggah school of playing.
For those who don't really like instrumental and/or experimental music, the tracks are still short and comprehensible enough that they should be considered enjoyable by lovers of music in general. Mongar manage to show an ability to even make soundtracks and soundscapes, which is a very admirable and respectable quality. I am glad that, on top of being impressive live, they also pull off great recordings with slick production and a lot of professionalism. I'm looking forward to an album and more shows!
5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment