Mono @ Newtown Social Club

MONO @ Newtown Social Club

Supported by Tangents & Fourteen Nights At Sea

Reviewed on Sunday December 6, 2015

It was still light out when Tangents took to Newtown Social Club’s tiny stage, and the sleepy Sunday dusk setting suited them rather well. Largely an improvisational band, they drifted pleasantly through a gentle, electronic-tinted soundscape of their own making, driven and shaped by a fantastic drummer. They set a rather sombre tone for what was to follow.

Fourteen Nights At Sea had more structure to their wanderings, though no less control. The five-piece displayed a darker tonal focus and more teeth than their predecessors – imagine a drunk Mogwai consumed with existential angst and you’d be close to the mark. Their set was defined by restraint, and they would agonise over builds before finally releasing us.

Seeing a band as monumental as Mono in such an intimate setting was a rare gift, and the experience seemed almost like a holiday to them. They entered humbly in plain lighting with little more than a wave and a smile, and were greeted with warm applause that ceded to reverential silence. They rewarded our courtesy with a setlist lifting heavily from Hymn To The Immortal Wind and their immaculate double album The Last Dawn/Rays Of Darkness.

You may have heard that Mono can be an emotional experience live, but words fail to express the cathartic power this foursome wields. Lead guitarist Takaakira ‘Taka’ Goto has the presence of both a master conductor and rock wizard rolled into one, his hands compulsively guiding and shaping the actions of his bandmates as if he were weaving sounds from the air. It was hypnotic to watch him draw his shimmering wash of sound from his guitar, eyes closed in trance-like focus.

Mono are shoegazers through and through, but in that distinctly Japanese way that carries no arrogance. They rarely smile and only bassist Tamaki Kunishi stands, but it’s all in service to the aura they exude as an intrinsic part of their live performances.

Their closing number said it all, an 11-minute monolith titled ‘Death In Reverse’: opening with an insistent guitar motif from Hideki ‘Yoda’ Suematsu; making way for Taka’s trademark surging and splashing cymbals courtesy of Yasunori Takada; gradually introducing Kunishi’s bass before bursting, receding and exploding again with successively greater force and majesty each time.

Post originally printed in The BRAG; available at http://www.thebrag.com/music/mono-newtown-social-club