Clocking in at just 32 minutes, Monotonix’s second full-length combines the frenzied, tour-ravaged vocals of singer Ami Shalev, the fuzzed-out chug of guitarist Yonatan Gat and manic tempos of drummer Haggai Fershtman into a cyclone of screeching rock. Energy is in no short supply here; start to finish the tempos of Not Yet barely ever drop below break-neck, and no track is ever disguised as anything less than fodder for the fire-starting drink-stealing chaos of their fabled live shows. Let there be no confusion: this is music for throwing parties, kicking over garbage cans and spilling beers. Thankfully, the Isreali trio is wise enough to never let the chaos get in the way of songwriting. Each track is a controlled burn, and the illusion of hectic monotony (hah!) quickly gives way to an array of strong riffs and scream-able choruses (“Before I Pass Away” is in my head, and it isn’t going anywhere). Not Yet is truth in album-art advertising: three bearded guys playing stripped down garage rock that’s clever enough to know when to quit and unpretentious enough to leave the audience happily exhausted.
B+
Originally published in The Peak, February 2011.
Transylvanilla 