LIVE: MONO-HIFI BAR, 05/12/09

by Sara Brocklesby.

Off I went last Friday night to see Japanese instrumental band Mono with zero expectations. I knew they were great recorded (thank you Steve Albini) but given their interests in classical music, shoegaze, noise and minimalism I really had no clear idea of how it was all going to translate live.

Just quickly, just in case: Mono are a four-piece and they’ve been around since the late 90s. Takaakira, Yoda, Tamaki and Yasunori, pleased to meet you. Because they’re hard to categorise they get to join the rank and file of lucky/unlucky bands described as post-rock.

Within the first five minutes of their set I decided that this was unfair, mainly because they are so thoughtful, genuine and learned in their playing and arrangements. Oooh, did I just make a list of qualities post-rock bands are lacking? I don’t mean to be a bitch, but Mono are good and make you realise where many post-rock bands are not. They make you realise how many bands are playing to a formula and how many are not really expressing any real range of emotion. Mono do not play-by-numbers.

Their set was mysterious to me because they manage to express a real depth of heart, you can feel it, you are tugged, and so you wonder, what stories are they describing? It feels quite personal and it is tantalising. True minimalists, the spaces between their sounds are as important and descriptive as their descents into sweet noise.

Takaakira is, I must say, one of the most artisanal guitar players I have seen for some time. Usually these dudes make me run screaming because often the better the technique, the quicker the boredom sets in. And the less time I spend in drifting thoughts about the amount of dust my cat has to live amongst, the better.

What I loved about Takaakira’s playing is that while it was amazing to watch and hear, he put so much story telling and dynamics into it. He’s one of those musicians for whom their instrument is like another limb, another living part of them.

Altogether, Mono’s parts come together like some nocturnal ecology that make your dreams beautiful, and they’re sound is challenging in it’s precision. I had to laugh a little watching the sound guy fussing over the desk trying to catch up.