Mono

Hymn To The Immortal Wind

[4/5]



The post-rock instrumental scene has become saturated with colorlessly competent bands and their predictable compositions, all metronomic ebb-and-flow dynamics. Mono rank among the genre’s innovators, infusing their work with fragile beauty and real emotion-qualities that ensure listeners become invested in the songs’ intricacies instead of simply following linear paths to noisy climaxes. On Hymn To The Immortal Wind, the Tokyo-based quartet collaborate with dozens of violinists and cellists, creating a gorgeous classical/shoegaze hybrid. Just when the album’s lush 10-minute-plus bookends (“Ashes In The Snow” and “Everlasting Light”) seem to plateau, symphonic reinforcements arrive to embellish the shimmering guitars. The group use an auxiliary string section judiciously, contrasting triumphant flashes of orchestral grandeur with subtle piano melodies isolated in sonic white space. Hymn’s soft-loud spectrum stretches uncommonly far, yielding rare rewards at each end. (TEMPORARY RESIDENCE LTD., temporaryresidence.com) Andrew Miller