Inbox: Monni - This Moment

New for me

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I'm not entirely sure how I came to be aware of Monni, but I have to admit that I purchased their second album simply on recognition of their name alone, wanting to try something different. Interestingly enough, Monni's music ended up being quite familiar as opposed to different, following in the latter day britpop tradition, putting the band close to early Coldplay, Snow Patrol and even Nell in terms of musical flavor. In some ways, this does mean that the band doesn't sound especially unique, but I think their strong songcraft makes their music enjoyable nonetheless.

This Moment is actually a rather long album with fourteen tracks spanning over fifty one minutes and after a couple listens, I have to admit that it actually feels long, even though the music does has some diversity beyond the britpop sound. However, the britpop sound does come at the front of the album in "나 지금 뛰어가고 있어" with Kim Shinui's voice frequently breaking up into near Kim Jongwan like distortion, but carrying a bit broader depth. Despite the comparisons, the music is all quite pleasant traversing in mood from longing, to introspection, to contentedness.

But because there's so much music, it's the deviations that are most notable and they are fortunately peppered through the album, like the chugging piano rock of the second track, "그대와 함께" or the rocker "가줄래" which has a more swingy verse breaking into an semi-angsty chorus. The band hits a little harder on "요조숙녀", although there's a point where I was hoping for some screaming and I got "bah-bah-bah"'s instead. The most unusual track features Lee Inkyung on filtered vocals, adding drum machines, giving the track an almost alt-dance sound, similar to the effect of Deli Spice's Welcome to the Delihouse.

I think that fans of the Korean take on britpop will easily find much to appreciate about Monni and the music is smooth enough that casual listeners will probably find it quite accessible. That said, the music isn't especially distinct as it follows a well worn style, already blazed by a more prominent Korean band, so I don't know if Monni is really going to appeal to anyone that's not already listening to this particular style of music already, unless it's a first encounter. Even if the album is a little overloaded, it's good music, just a touch familiar. 7/10.

Tracklist:

1. 나 지금 뛰어가고 있어
   
2. 그대와 함께
3. 제자리
4. 일기
5. 울지말아요
   
6. 눈물이 마르면
7. 나를 떠나가던
   
8. 톡톡톡
9. 가줄래
10. 비밀
11. 요조숙녀
12. I Know You
13. My Girlfriend
14. 흔적

Links:

• Artist website
• Additional Reviews: wakesidevision
• Available at YesAsia