MONOBROW
The Nacarat
Unsigned/Independent
3.5/5
The next offering from long-running Canadian doom/stoner metal with elements of psychedelic rock trio Monobrow is very much along the same lines of thinking as their previous album Big Sky, Black Horse which is sitting at a rather paltry 57% over at MA, while this one comes in at an astonishing 80% on the same site. It’s great that Monobrow are actually getting some exposure over there and they have to be doing something that thousands of bands aren’t, because it is pretty rare these days for the majority of unsigned acts to get a single review on MA and that’s just the truth. But aside from my nagging, Monobrow have created a rather crunchy effort, which contains the same amount of atmosphere and instrumentality that you might expect – but that’s almost a joke at this point, because these guys are still purely instrumentalists and that of course is reflected rather well here.
To be honest, there wasn’t too much on the record that I found to differ much from that of the band’s previous releases, all which I’ve enjoyed. It very much felt to me like another day at the office, albeit with a heavier emphasis put on thick and meaty slams of doom, adding in enough variation in the way of texture to keep things from getting stale. The melodies also manage to shine through the muck, which is probably the most notable part of this performance. As is common with a Monobrow record, we are taken on a bit of journey that feels like an odd mixture of a positive and negative acid trip. You’re getting the best of both worlds here, but should not be expecting either side to give way to the other. There are sections where your pleasant trance will be interrupted by thunderous Sabbathian tones, the likes of which will threaten to blow out the glass in your windows, so be careful how loud you crank this up. But isn’t that one of the best things about doom? The record requires you to sit down and actually absorb it, but if this review describes what you’re looking for, then you’ll be glad that you did.
Although these guys have been DIY for several years now, they were able to make the kind of record that you would expect from a major label. All of this without even the most minute level of corporate production money going in (at least to my knowledge). Nothing here sounds overly raw, with an astonishing level of clarity that doesn’t quite drown out all of the psychedelics or lead guitar melodies that are such a major part of this performance. Monobrow show that they’re still as proficient as they’ve ever been when crafting an atmosphere and even though The Nacarat sounds very close to what I’ve heard in the past from them, I’m certainly not one to knock a solid effort. If you haven’t discovered the band yet, here’s a great place to pick them up. Hopefully, you’ll go back through the discography and discover their wonderful past efforts too. They’re all good trips, which is what we need sometimes to separate ourselves from the day to day monotony of life. (The Grim Lord)