MONOKROM

“tales of rabbits and hares”
(Ant-Zen)
Official Website
(4/5)

Relentless… grinding… seizure inducing walls of noise guaranteed to clear those clogged arteries and to blow out any and all pending brain hemorrhages. Monokrom’s release “tales of rabbits and hares” is far from the pleasant sounds you’d expect from the bunny-laden cover art. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. While in the midst of the noise/rhythms there are quieter moments, this is all relative. Even the quiet moments are more grinding than most other releases. The CD contains 5 rather lengthy tracks and an additional video. Now this is what sets monokrom apart from a lot of other noise acts out there: identity. The packaging for “tales of rabbits and hares” is nothing short of fantastic. It’s a great looking (monochrome) cardboard booklet with images of rabbits hopping all about wrapped in a silver band… not overly complicated I know, but it’s minimalist presentation fits extremely well with the music. Their identity is brought out even more though, when the video is watched. The video presents the act wearing Donnie Darko-esque rabbit suits throughout what I assume to be a live performance. Saturated in video projections and dynamic lighting schemes, the video portion of the disc is totally engaging. With the exception of the video, I can only recommend this release to noise fans because there just isn’t much breaching past that particular niche genre. The video is a fun watch but still might not be enough to win over the casual listener/viewer who isn’t specifically interested in pounding walls of noise. Recommended tracks: “A Bunny’s Life” (video).

-Chvad SB

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