Monade
The Spitz, London, July 10th 2006
I am familiar with Stereolab. I have to admit that I have drifted away
tastewise from their increasingly electronic and loop ridden sound over
the past few years. So it was always going to be a slim chance that
Monade would 'do it' for me. For Monade is the side project of Laetitia
Sadier from Stereolab. Starting as a 'bedroom' project a few years back
it has evolved into a four piece band. Consider Laetitia's heritage
and you will have a fair idea of what to expect from Monade musically.
The crowd at the Spitz seemed eager to hear Monade.
It was like stepping back in time, to a simpler time, before Stereolab
dabbled with drum loops and over complicated electronics. This was the
plus side for me, as this had been what had started to turn me off Stereolab's
sound. Monade did bear the hallmark guitar sound that Laetitia's other
band is famous for. The deep organ sound that came in during some songs
made it sound nearly church like. All I needed was a killer song, something
like 'French Disko' for instance and I could have been hooked. So this
unfamiliarity with the band's material made it a tough set to really
enjoy. I found that after a few songs that everything seemed to merge
into one homogeneous splodge of spacey lounge pop. I couldn't pick a
standout tune from the set. And that's where the problem lay, Monade
were not bad, they were just lacking in that extra spark that would
have made their set stand out. A change of pace or a little more variation
would have held my attention a more.
As the gig wore on I was aching for a song to come out and grab my
attention. I waited in vain. I was just hoping that Monade would be
a couple more steps above the mundane. This was a so so performance
from someone I thought could do better. I am off to listen to Refried
Electoplasm, now there's a record had tunes to die for.
Trevor McCabe
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