Monophona
Girls on bikes boys who sing

Monophona is a trio from Luxemburg who has given us their third album Girls on Bikes Boys Who Sing, an album that looks fairly interesting. They are described as trip-hop and indietronic, and their new album is a bit more political and aggressive than its predecessor according to their own statement in the press release. That aggression comes from the fact that our 21st century world isn’t as free and tolerant as it is supposed to be with more and more people without personal freedom, and as them I think that is a bothersome fact probably a good thing to write music about.

On the subject of the music it is electronic and a bit dark, but also intimate and warm – just like the vocals from Claudine who sings really well and very passionately, she has a really good voice. I think they can be a bit compared to the likes of Björk, perhaps much because of the vocals. The sound is really good on the album and at times it is dramatic and at other times it is even aggressive and hard rocking, like in the second track. The eleven tracks shows good variation and depth, and I think the playing time is short enough to keep the listener listening for the duration.

Nice album, it opens with Courage and it is really great in its best moments. The second track Tick of a Clock is probably my second favourite of the album with its hard rocking and aggressive tone, really like the vocals and feeling in this song. The best one has to be the fifth track Lada that is a really strong track with great vocals and fantastic feeling. Unfortunately these quite amazing tracks are mixed with tracks that don’t really do anything for me. But then again, I doubt I am the really targeted audience and if you are a fan of the similar bands and bands like them I don’t doubt that you will find this album quite appealing.

Overall I think it is a fairly audacious album with some excellent points, and that alone makes the album worth checking out. But the quality is a bit patchy and there are some tracks that doesn’t really do much for me, which is a shame because had it been near the quality of the best songs of the album it would have been a very appealing album to me – it is still appealing but I think it could have been better. I certainly think Monophona can be quite impressive, that alone makes this album worth checking out.

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