Catchy, crisp, and commendable

‘Disconnect’ by Monks of Mellonwah album review

By Alex Stanton, Staff Writer

3/5

While some may dismiss Sydney, Australia’s Monks of Mellonwah as just another indie-rock group with bright melodies and eclectic influences, their sophomore studio effort Disconnect is a collection of tunes that warrant a shot from those who like to dig deeper under the surface of alternative music.

The album opens the way all great rock albums do: with a strong beat from a bass drum. Of the seven tracks, the first single, “Never Been Good,” is well-placed as track one. The rhythm section shines during this song with its stomp-clap drumbeat and the driving, fuzzy bass line.

The second single, “Even When it Burns,” is every bit as good. The catchy chorus and vocal melodies are commendable, even if I’m not huge on the singer’s voice overall. One questionable decision was placing the two hit singles right at the beginning of Disconnect. Fans have likely already heard the songs when they made their debut in April. “Even When It Burns” would have better served its purpose somewhere in the middle of the slower songs or near the end. Anywhere except where it ended up.

“Show Me Something More” has a Pink Floyd vibe from The Division Bell era. Crisp keyboard and guitar work does the album a service by showing off its quality production. I’m not sure why the band decided to include “Interlude,” a short and sweet track that would have worked better as an extended intro to the title track.

“Disconnect” is a decent attempt at a Paul McCartney-esque ballad, complete with the blown-up production and lots of decidedly non-rock-sounding instruments. It’s the softest number on the album and it gets the job done adequately.

After a mostly soft middle, we come to “Feel it Coming” and “Look at Me,” two of the more outright rock-and-roll songs on Disconnect. The former is somewhat inspired by ’70s classic rock, and both tracks—particularly the latter—are heavily inspired by the funkier side of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, making them two of the more solid songs Disconnect has to offer.

Monks of Mellonwah is really tight and the production is totally commendable—but Disconnect just feels like something that’s been done before.

All of that being said, I nonetheless recommend Disconnect to anyone looking to spend 20 minutes listening to something nice. I honestly enjoy listening to the album: it doesn’t really bring a whole heap of innovation to the table, but that’s okay.