Mono

These deathly serious post-rockers from Japan proved with their last album, You Are There, that they are the current masters of this genre. While others have branched into electronics and vocals, Mono continue to go from quiet to loud and back again with such power and mastery that all must bow before them. But, like any band, they must cut the wheat from the chafe from time to time and this collection of hard-to-find EPs proves that although this is beautiful stuff, Mono can get lost just like anyone else. Indeed, if you’ve never heard this band before go pick up one of their albums before taking this in. It’s not that the music is any less organised but it just feels a tad less directed. "Memorie Dal Futuro” has a good amount of fuzz but never truly makes a mark, while "Since I’ve Been Waiting For You” is all warm and glowing but burns out quickly. "Gone,” from The Phoenix Tree EP, is a definite highlight, as it taps into Mono’s primal, epic best. It’s a bit better at the end but if there’s ever an album that needed the "for completists only” tag, it’s this one.