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A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars

I Monster

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Customer Reviews

Sucker for their Sound

Although it has been nearly five years since their last record, I Monster have returned with a 16 track album brimming with brilliant tunes. Their sound, infinitely undefinable (but lies somewhere between dream pop, progressive rock, and electro-crunk) is present among all songs. However, compared to it's predecessors, A Dense Swarm of Ancient Stars showcases a more nostalgic and retro sonance interwoven throughout the album. The first track, an intro much akin to the track A Blue Wrath from their previous album, sets the mood with quirky horns and chirpy beeps whilst leading into the initial single of the album. No doubt the catchiest song on the album, A Sucker For Your Sound lends much of its appeal to the graceful vocals of Philly, an invaluable addition to I Monster's roster of collaborators. With a stellar video to boot, the tune is easily an album highlight. The next two tracks, Goodbye Sun and Cool Coconuts, are sung by the original Monster duo, Dean and Jarrod. Goodbye Sun features an unstoppable bass line and upbeat keyboards whilst Cool Coconuts is a much more relaxed affair with offbeat lyrics implying military desertion. Quality as usual. The following song features more of Philly's vocals on Lust for a Vampyr. A sensual and burlesque jam about the immortality of both love and vampires. The rolling piano and horns eventually explode into a raunchy finale. Another excellent track. The interlude Mr. Mallard is, above all, the apex of the album. It's brilliance must be heard to be fully appreciated. The next three tracks, She's Giving Me The I, Escape From New Yorkshire, and Dear John are headed again by the Monsters. She's Giving Me The I, a lovely tune about forbidden love, starts off traditionally enough, but then warps into a psychedelic conclusion. Escape From New Yorkshire is laced with swirling horns and altered vocals all kept in line with precise drumming - the album's danciest track. Dear John, which to me recalls the sounds of early Split Enz, is a lovely narrative of John, an account almost consumed by work. The following two tracks, Inzects and it's sequel, are an unexpected turn. Part 1 could almost be considered electro-punk whereas Part 2, The Mutations, is solely the chirps and beeps of electronics. Perhaps a reference to the old b-movies that the I Monster name is derived, or perhaps just a song about bugs. The world will never know. The next tracks make up the Sickly Suite, perhaps the sonic center point of the album. The first section, How Are you?, is a sparse but sweet bit sung by Philly with whimsical lyrics. Very lovely. The following section, Out of the Shadows, turns slightly sinister. Once known as The Creeping Flesh, Out of the Shadows features Philly, Dean and Jarrod on vocals. The song is a slow burner, but oddly beautiful. One of I Monster's best songs. The conclusion, Gone, is a brief and simple end to the suite with thoughtful lyrics. A Pod is Waiting, the penultimate track, is an extremely catchy insight into, of all subjects, life and death. The track rises and falls up until it's rock and rollish conclusion. The song is endlessly repeatable and the best track on the album. The closer is perhaps the most bizarre choice ever. The Best, a Tina Turner cover, concludes the album as it began, with a quirkiness the is undeniably I Monster. As the robotic voice recites the 1988 hit, you can't help but appreciate the thought, creativity, and artistic merit put into the album. Hopefully I Monster will receive the fame they deserve, but in the meantime I'll just be a sucker for their sound.

sexy, fun, flirty... trippy...

what a major follow up to their masterpiece 'neveroddoreven'... it is jazzy, bossa nova-esque and just pure fun. it takes on a trip, to a la-la-la land.

Musical Genuises......

I Monster, I can say unregretabbly is my favorie artist of all time. The only thing I really have to say, is that I wish they would make an extended version of "A Scarecrow's Tale", preferabbly without the mumbling dude. Other than that, I Monster is the best artist in the entire psychidelic, hydrophonic, Stereo-fidelic, superdonic Galaxy. Thank You, I Monster.

Biography

Formed: 1997 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '90s, '00s

Best known for the loungy trip-hop track "Daydream in Blue," a 2001 hit that has a lengthy and convoluted history of its own, the British production duo I Monster specialize in psychedelic, electronic-tinged pop confections that are often based around samples from easy listening records and other unlikely sources. Jarrod Gosling and Dean Honer met in the record section of the Sheffield City Library in the early '90s, an era when that city — which had already been the site of major developments...
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