Review: Mono Live in KL

Most international acts don’t come to Malaysia twice. (Heck, most acts don’t come to Malaysia, period. But let’s not go there.) One could offer innumerable theories as to why this is, but it wouldn’t change the fact that those who do actually make a second or third stopover are either (a) very annoying (eg. Michael Learns To Rock, Black Eyed Peas) or (b) very old (eg. Air Supply, Earth, Wind and Fire).

Which makes Mono’s second Malaysian appearance a bit of an anomaly, since they don’t fit either category. Yet it happened, as the Japanese post-rock quartet dropped into Kuala Lumpur for the second time in two years. There was a noticeably bigger crowd this time—at least five times bigger too, given the barely-100 stragglers that occupied Zouk Club two years ago. That is likely a by-product of last year’s Hymn To The Immortal Wind, the orchestral love saga that was the band’s fifth release and easily its most accessible yet. There were also chairs—two of them onstage, to be precise, for guitarists Takaakira Goto and Yoda. Which suggests fewer instances of bended knees and flailing arms, perhaps?

Hardly. As the night would demonstrate, Mono have not wussified. Deepset, Malaysia’s current frontrunners of post rock, lifted the bar via an admirable set replete with uplifting melodic passages. Then, after some lulling opera strains that culminated in a soaring female aria, Mono appeared, and bassist Tamaki Kunishi and drummer Yasunori Takada took on glockenspiel duties for opener ‘Ashes In The Snow’.

Hymns’ classical leanings have certainly expanded Mono’s soundscapes, and the band took full advantage by incorporating pianos, aforementioned glocks and, midway through, a string quartet. Yet do not be fooled by such dainty instrumentation; for the unprepared, a Mono performance can be punishing. The band straddles two extreme tangents: a slow, prolonged stillness, often consisting of no more than Taka’s delicate guitar lines that hover upon a brooding climate of droning minor chords; and a thick, relentless explosion of fuzz and distortion, accentuated by rumbling toms and scathing cymbals.

Quiet, loud, LOUD, LOUD. That’s the Mono experience, essentially. And once more, Malaysia’s post-rock faithful received enough eargasms to last multiple lifetimes. The string quartet exited after ‘Where Am I?’, and Taka and Yoda stood up. It was an apt cue for the devilish ‘Kidnapper Bell’, which was followed by perpetual crowd fave ‘Halcyon (Beautiful Days)’. Hymns closer ‘Everlasting Light’ saw more piano action, an euphoric outro and a unanimous roar of approval.  There was no encore, and for an aurally exhausted crowd, it was probably the wisest move. Might a third show be in the future makings? Let’s pray so. They’re definitely cheaper than Rain.

WORDS CHRIS PHOTO GARY aka Starfish 83

Set list:

1. Ashes In The Snow
2. Burial At The Sea
3. Follow The Map
4. Yearning
5. Are You There?
6. 2 Candles, 1wish
7. Where Am I
8. Kidnapper Bell 
9. Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
10. Everlasting Light