.moneen. are we really happy with who we are right now? Release Date : June 3, 2003 Label: Smallman Records Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. Why do I always start off reviews of this genre the same way? Again, as with Despistado, in my notes it says 'happy-sounding emo punkishness.' What the hell does that mean?!? Interpret as you will, and I'll do my best to carry on and give you more of a vibe off this thing. It's such a party. There's yelling at appropriate times without being dreadfully annoying. It's all leaps and bounds different from what you might expect them to sound like if you've only ever, say, had an interview with them, watched them on Going Coastal, or witnessed them acting like idiots in Alexisonfire's "Waterwings" video (they're the Butterscotch Boys). These guys are super-intense and clever in their lyrics, bleeding from their various souls right through your headphones. They harbour the standard, way-too-long emo song titles. I kinda love those. You know what you're getting into before you even pop in the album when you see titles like that. The second track, "Start angry… end mad," (which incidentally has just had a video recorded for it) has a kickass, kickoff thrumming guitar riff which then slows down and proceeds to smack you back in the face a second later as it kicks up again. Screw you, I hope you burn. Oh, Kenny Bridges, why so angry? There's a yelling duel going on between chunks of the verses in that song as well. Woohaa! So much fun! This is such a ridiculous review already! The heat must be getting to me. Deal with it. Anyhow, this music was bred so kids could mosh, it seems. The titles are full sentences even. No words are capped except the first of each title. They're so groundbreaking. The songs on the disc seem to often identify dissatisfaction and a measure of selfishness. They are confessional, but not apologetic. Tumultuous. They feel like unrest. The drums are at absolute warp speed at times. I don't know how Peter Krpan can keep it up. "To say something that means nothing to anyone at all" slows down to a gentle, but still bouncy, ballad with echoey effects, and a dripping smooth voice. At times, I find this disc a bit homogenous with many of the initial song intros, but you know, it steps up in just the right spots to keep it from getting boring. The guitar riffs make the album. The emotion makes it valid. Wait, did I just hear jingle bells? The ten tracks get looooong. They are drawn-out emo tunes on par with their lengthy titles. Ten tracks, clocking in at over fifty minutes. I like long albums. "To say something…" ends in an instrumental epic that sounds like a new song if you aren't paying close enough attention. High, squealy guitars and a riff that seems to take the place of a vocal track, and then a good, final chorus at the tail of it all. "With this song I will destroy myself" sounds jumpy and fun, no matter what the title implies. Little Kenny Bridges doesn't look like he'd carry such a tumbling, yelping, stray rock voice, but alas! Surprise! This song also drops off into a 'this is a different track, right?' mellow part. It's almost like they wrote twenty songs but couldn't decide which ones to scrap, so they squashed a bunch of them together so the album looks more concise, when really, it's just a massive, never-ending aural journey through each song. Bringing you up, then taking you down, then bringing you up, then… The album's a year or so old, so I suppose they're working on a new one by now, but that's hard to imagine with all the touring they do. You can't skip forth on any track because they change so much throughout. Track four leaps unexpectedly into track five. It's tiring just to listen to it, but it certainly does make you want to yell. The sixth track, "I have never done anything for anyone that was not for me as well," starts with a pretty piano and soft vocal. Mmmmm… how long can this last? Listen to it and find out for yourself mwahaha. I can't give away all the secrets. But in the meantime, grab your damn slowdance partner. This song divides the CD nicely in two parts, because the last track is so f&^@&*#$ing long. "How to live life with the thought that sometimes life ends" is track number seven, and deals with the loss of Bridges' grandmother, and how she knew ahead of time. It's bold, up front, touching and sad. It sounds kind of… not angry, but just questioning the justness of life and death. Really interesting tune in its bare lyricism. The guitars are all over. Oh, those riffs, those swift fingers! Track 8, "Life's just too short little ndugu," includes such morose lines as we all hate long goodbyes / so don't bother and just die. How pleasant. There's a thick riff to start the next track, "Thoughts weigh heavy… don't get drowned in the weight of it all," which threads through the whole song. There are softer vocals here, and then there's that last song, aptly titled "The last song I will ever want to sing." They took that as a request at a show I saw in Vancouver and ended up playing for the span of three normal songs. Good choice. It's insane, but such a lovely tune. It starts off with such a delicate sustained instrumentation, scratching, understated guitar crescendos, gentle drums and piano for a long time before the song really begins. It's a long sleepy lead-up - too much maybe? Nah. It steps down for a moment and then hits back with the piano some more. Everything breaks off into a single guitar, and then the voice picks up. Again, it's soft and fitting. It's an odd way to end a mostly hard-hitting disc. Is this how .moneen. wants us to remember them? Oh man, I'm gonna cry. The moments that you think the song's gonna pick up, it doesn't. It just keeps pouring across a flat plane. There are some Doves-ish guitar effects coming into play here, drifty and ambient. And more dueling yelling, which I think might be the best part of the disc. This one is a landscape of a song. It could almost be an album in itself, it has so many layers and parts. There's a gorgeous guitar squall near the end, and then a hush to vocals only… wait, smile, do something. Lyric of choice : Don't say you're sorry / 'cause sorry means something's wrong from "Closing my eyes won't help me leave," or I hate to have to say goodbye / 'cause I can't wait to tell you now / that what we have must end from "With this song I will destroy myself." Song of choice : Either "Start angry... end mad" or "With this song I will destroy myself." Both are so grand. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere .moneen. website Published : July 15, 2004.