Oh no, not again.

I have to politely disagree. I think this is a great record – and this is coming from one of the “hardcore listeners” you’ve alluded to. Not as good as The Red Tree, but still a great listen.

If there are “no poor songs,” why the rating of 4/10? Also, who on the radio does this sound like?

by AndrewK on 10.14.2009 @ 06:07 PM

First of all, we all have different opinions as we all experience different situations and circumstances and I appreciate people will disagree with me and to be fair, I’ll disagree with others too!

I hadn’t heard of Moneen until my allocation of this review, where as you are a hardcore listener. Obviously, not all hardcore listeners will be dissapointed with this album, but going by postings on the internet and through my own ears, I would have thought that this latest offering would alienate some of the older fans.

What I didn’t (and maybe should have) mention was that although there are no poor songs, there aren’t any fantastic songs, in my opinion. It was very average. 4,5,6 out of 10 for me, means an average album. I thought it was far too repetative and to be quite honest, boring, which is why I gave it a 4.

Obviously Moneen do have their own sound and they aren’t directly comparable to a rock band heard on college rock radio, but to me it sounded like the whishy washy stuff you hear when you do turn on a rock radio. I couldn’t tell you who they sound like on the radio, because I don’t know the names of the bands, but to me, it sounded like Moneens songs belonged there.

by Will Lyon on 10.14.2009 @ 06:42 PM

I just think you should be more cautious to back up your score in the review rather than a comment. Also, Moneen is a four-piece, and “Hold That Sound” is a single.

Also, stating “obviously Moneen do have their own sound” is totally contradictory to what you’ve stated in your review (“lack of uniqueness”). As for “repetitive,” which songs sound similar to you?

If you don’t like it, you don’t like it; I just think as a reviewer, you haven’t justified your rating.

by AndrewK on 10.14.2009 @ 07:05 PM

Sorry, this sounds terrible, but wikipedia said there was 5 members. I know, I should never do research off there!

I’m actually a little proud that I guessed the single correctly. I just did a wee search on google and I couldn’t find any info of it being a single, so I’m not really very bothered. After all I’m reviewing the album anyway.

As for Moneen having their own sound. I mean they have their own “emo” sound. The vocals are very much placed in this category and the melodic, distorted guitars certainly are Moneens sound. However, it’s a sound that is, as I said not very unique. Hundreds of bands to me, sound very similar. There’s nothing on the album that really stands up to be counted. This paragraph probably doesn’t make sense, but it’s hard to explain and I didn’t really use the right terms to start with.

All the electric guitar based songs sounded very similar. The acoustic based ones sounded a little different, but after a brief period it all blended into one, to be quite honest, boring album.

Thanks for the advice though. I will consider justifying my score next time I review, as the concept is totally new to me. I’m after all not an expert, I’m just reviewing out of the love for music, I don’t get paid. Hell I didn’t even get a free copy of this album, I had to listen to a stream of it on a website, which I’ve never had to do before. However, I normally write a review and then give a rating. I’m a reviewer, not a “rater”. However, I’ve considered what you’ve said and I will in the future try to think about justifying myself.

by Will Lyon on 10.14.2009 @ 07:32 PM

Zeus speaks!

by AndrewK on 10.16.2009 @ 11:00 AM