ARTIST: Moneen
TITLE: Saying Something You Have Already Said Before (EP)
LABEL: Vagrant Records
GENRE: Rock
BITRATE: 245 kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 20min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-11-16
RIP DATE: 2006-12-12
Track List
----------
1. Prepare Yourself... The Worst 4:02
Is Yet To Come
2. This Is All Bigger Than Me 3:48
(Acoustic)
3. There Are A Million Reasons 5:12
For Why This May Not Work...
And Just One For Why It Will
(Acoustic)
4. The East Has Stolen What The 3:36
West May Want (Acoustic)
5. The Song I Swore To Never Sing 3:25
(Acoustic)
Release Notes:
http://www.moneen.com
Working on their latest album The Red Tree, Moneen had a new awakening. For a
band that is accustomed to touring extensively and taking only a month off to
write an album before going back on the road, having real time to work on their
songs was a concept they weren't used to. The process was both refreshing and
painful, but the frustration that came from continually analyzing their work
turned into determination to make the best album they could. The payoff is a
mature and diverse record where each song is epic, not in length but in scope.
After three relatively solid years of touring to promote Are We Really Happy
With Who We Are Right Now, playing Europe and the UK for the first time, and
sharing the stage with bands such as Muse and Taking Back Sunday, the band spent
half a year at home in and around Toronto working on material. When they went to
Baltimore in July 2005 to work with producer Brian McTernan (Hot Water Music,
Snapcase, Thrice) they began the dissecting and rebuilding their songs. At times
disheartening, the process caused friction that was documented in the film The
Start to This May Be the End to Another by Alex Liu. Since this was the only
period of the recording process that was filmed, the documentary gives the
impression that making this album was torturous for Moneen. Though the first
week was tough, the following weeks found the members coming together and
enjoying themselves. "When we got home I was so motivated, all I cared about was
this band and the songs, more than ever before," gushes singer Kenny Bridges.
"Now I was on a mission and, not to sound like I'm trying to be Brian Wilson or
anything, I was trying to write the best songs I could and not let anything hold
me back." Unlike Wilson, Bridges managed to tackle this challenge without
letting neuroses or nerves get in his way. Instead, all the obstacles created a
catapult to bring them closer to the album they wanted. "If we didn't go through
all that crap of thinking we were the worst band ever and that we couldn't write
a song if we tried, then we never would have got this record we have now," says
Bridges.
After the release of Are We Really Happy... the boys became legendary for their
tight, stop-start arrangements, and song titles that go on for miles. While the
names of their tunes haven't shortened at all-in fact the new album features
some monikers that certainly won't fit on an iPod screen, such as "The
Frightening Reality Of The Fact That We Will All Have To Grow Up And Settle Down
One Day" and "There Are A Million Reasons For Why This May Not Work...And Just
One Good One For Why It Will"-the new songs are more cohesive and less frenetic
than past albums.
Their live shows, however, show no sign of taming, just improving. Bridges feels
that, as much as their nutty stage show is important to maintain, the time off
of the road made them focus more on stepping up their playing abilities. "It's
one thing to be like, 'Look at me, I can spin on my back!'" he says. "But if I'm
spinning on my back and singing so bad and playing nothing on my guitar, then
that's no good."
In pre production, Bridges says that it seemed the album was going to be very
dark. Lyrics such as "Let's be tragic/Let's be sad," "He said, 'we're all dead'"
and "This kind of love won't last it never did" do seem to suggest lamenting and
morbidity, but the music itself promotes excitement rather than depression.
Writing lyrics this time around was less a glance inward for Bridges as it was a
look outward at the rest of world. Inspired by the news and current event that
make him want to smash his television, the lyrics have an element of
storytelling which isn't as prevalent on previous albums.
