So I had a chance to listen to Monotonix’ Body Language EP all the way through. The first song “Summers & Autumns” is the best on the record. It starts with a kind of Black Sabbath-esque 70’s style riff and and then continues on to a stop/start chorus and just grooves. The absence of a bass guitar makes the fact that the songs groove solidly impressive, also showcasing how tight the drummer is.

The EP holds true to the rock sound of the band all the way through. There aren’t any ballads or weird electronic tracks or anything like that. The title track, “Body Language” which is also the final song starts with seemingly random piano playing before descending into a kind of dance-y led zeppelin riff, this is a good thing. It also has a catchy chorus, and a guitar part near the end of the song that for some reason reminds me of the music in the Mega Man games you played as a kid on Nintendo.

After seeing them live I kind of figured their EP would be weak, just because their live show is so intense. In a way the EP is weak, but not in a bad way. It doesn’t capture the insanity and ridiculousness of their live shows, but its pleasing to listen to and that is usually the mark of any decent record.

Been busy lately. The Monotonix - “Body Language” EP review will be up tomorrow as promised.

After seeing Monotnix live I decided to get their “Body Language” EP. I just got it and I haven’t listened to the whole thing all the way through yet, but I am going to give it a couple listens tonight and I will post a review here tomorrow.

*(The above flyer is obviously not for the show I saw, but is the only cool looking one I could find).

So over the weekend, I saw this band Monotonix (from Tel Aviv, Israel) and Old Time Relijun (from Olympia, WA) at Pomona College. I missed Monotonix’s show at The Smell in downtown LA the night before, so I was forced to drive out to Pomona if I wanted to see them. Pomona is about a 40 minute drive for me, not too bad.

I arrived to see only the last 2 songs of Monotonix’ set, which was still cool. They played in the audience as usual (instead of on the stage). My friend and I helped the drummer set his drums up on the bar for the last song, and also helped him play them. I ended up getting one of their shirts. The other band, Old Time Relijun, I knew nothing about except that they were on K Records. The singer/guitarist plays a $20 guitar, and they have an upright bass player and a sax player. They turned out to be good and got into several hypnotic grooves. Overall the whole show was a great time.

You can check both bands out here…

Monotonix - http://www.myspace.com/monotonix

Old Time Relijun - http://www.myspace.com/theoldtimerelijun