Heave Media

The Personal (Music) is Political

From Monument to Masses reconciles politics and instruments in their latest album.

From Monument to Masses

On Little Known Frequencies

Released on Mar 10, 2009

With the re-emergence of lo-fi sound aesthetics and a jaded attitude towards the power of music, it is entirely refreshing to hear a band that refuses to adopt that persona.  From Monument to Masses doesn’t shy away from the political in their lyrical snippets, and their expansive instrumental sound is one that deserves to be heard in a venue with fantastic acoustics. Their fourth full-length album, On Little Known Frequencies, showcases the band’s hardcore musical tendencies, juxtaposed with sparse lyrics that sound like they belong more on the stage of a poetry slam than on a rock album.

This is my first FMTM album, so I cheated and headed over to their MySpace to get a better sense of where they were coming from. I may have even peeked at Wikipedia—I know, I’m a terrible reviewer. However, their MySpace offered up a line from their drummer that seems to encapsulate the feel of this album. When reflecting on the band’s beginning, Francis Choung says that they weren’t looking to make it big: “We were just focused on writing music that we could be proud of.”

From the sounds of it, FMTM has plenty to be proud of. Before the praise is heaped on though, one critique must be made. As is the case with quite a few bands that stick to a solely instrumental sound, a lot of the tracks off of this album blur together. It isn’t until about the third listen that the differences begin to make themselves known. However, by incorporating both electronic and slightly more acoustic sounds, they do manage to vary the landscape a little bit.

Upon first listen, it seems natural to lump them in with Explosions in the Sky, or the heavier bands like Mogwai—one of their noted influences. After hearing some of their lyrics though, most of which sound like found audio snippets, and learning of their political leanings, they do set themselves apart from the pack. On the opening track, “Checksum,” the scattered lyrics sound like a declaration from a former revolutionary to a young activist: “The names change. The faces change, but the basics are there. You get people together, and you make progress. It’s that simple. That’s how you move history.” It could be meant in irony or sincerity, but before listeners can lose themselves in the instrumentation of FMTM, they’re going to give a little more thought to what they’re listening to.

While the inclusion of short spurts of lyrics might bother some, it’s an interesting way to convey a message without beating a listener over the head with it. Purely political bands seem to have a way of running out of steam before managing to really “unite” many of their listeners. Might it be possible that FMTM could have a winning formula on their hands with these short bursts?

Maybe so, but even if they aren’t able to live up to their political agenda, they’ve got their musical talent to fall back on. Even though the band is at their best on more rock-based songs, they are equally adept with slower, more developed tracks like “A Sixth Trumpet”—also one that doesn’t feature any lyrics. The string parts serve as the highlight of this entire track and only help in building the beautiful and compelling climaxes.

Yes, some of the songs could possibly use a little more distinguishing. But, when they are all great tracks, it’s not so bad when they sound similar to one another. Whether you’re as politically-minded as this threesome or just want to hear some well-played instruments, On Little Known Frequencies should be on heavy rotation for you.

Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Apr 07, 2009 @ 6:00 am