Last Dawn

Another beautiful album by MONO, full of depth, a kind of pensive reverie not found anywhere else in this genre, but is perhaps made more exceptional by its drive for a greater sense of warmth and intensity that it leaves the listener overwhelmed by a mix of wonderful, thoughtful emotions. Truly a brilliant album by MONO. Everyone should listen to MONO of Japan on Spotify to try to hear what I hear and have come to deeply appreciate every day.

The real Mono once again carries you away on waves and colors of sound that goes beyond the mark of beautiful into a whole new definition , one which I as yet not been able to capture. And that is a very good thing.

a listening vacation!

After some time in the studio, Mono have returned with a pair of dual albums to span their usual inner observations of triumph, love, happiness, fear, loss, and emptiness. Rather than span a single disc of music, they felt it necessary to split their observations into two separate, yet equally poignant, discs of specifically isolated experiences. I will review the project as a whole in the first portion of each review and then review each specific disc in the second portion of the review.As a whole the project is immaculate. Mono return to their true signature form of sweeping crescendos and massively destructive climaxes. But in this case they save each for their proper moments. Perhaps many may listen to this 'Dawn/Darkness' project and recall the likes of a similar observation from sweeping soundscape masters, Sigur Rós, with their 2002 release, ' Sigur Rós .' That album also took Light and Dark and combined them into a single observation. However, in that case it merely spanned a single disc. Both projects work extremely well. What I was able to conclude is that you could liken each album to an animal: the first, 'The Last Dawn,' to an animal in its native habitat that allows the observer to come close and interact intimately. The second, however, ' Rays of Darkness ,' is a similar animal in its native habitat. However, this animal is erratic and unpredictable in its behavior, thus leaving the observer unsure of what it may be capable of with each minute. Both albums present a very full and rewarding listening experience, but are not at all the same.With 'The Last Dawn,' the listener is greeted with the most traditional of Mono's signature sounds: the moving instrumentals of the band mingled with delicate orchestral complements. The whole of the listen to this album, I labeled each song with the same recurring label: gentle. The music is not, however, restrained. To relate it to the animal analogy, it is like approaching an animal that is permissible in observing it. It allows you to approach it and take note of all its movements and intricate details. The album is a beautiful thing that exemplifies the whole of Mono's ability to capture emotion and let it spill out gently and subtly.From the opening in 'The Land Between Tides/Glory,' we are given a lovely, trembling string movement to accompany a calm opening of waterlogged guitar plucks that fade out into distorted peace, leaving a lovely, lovely tone echoing in the ears. This method is not unfamiliar territory with Mono, so you can expect to be pleasantly satiated. This steady guidance continues to the point of rising tension of all instruments into a screaming declaration that echoes the opening in a more concentrated, elevated volume. Mono do not get bombastic here, nor do they get bombastic for the duration of the record; they save that for the second part. However, the music is still massive in its own scale with very cautious, gentle journeys.There are highs and lows with volume shifts that we have come to appreciate in Mono, however it is not as stagnant as with ' For My Parents .' The focus is clear and takes the listener through without any speed bumps or hesitations. A part of me is still hoping for a sweeping, all-encompassed piano suite embedded into the music, but we still have a minimal approach with single notes played in succession. Perhaps some day I will have that gift. But this is Mono, of course, and not Dustin O'Halloran.I liked this album more than the previous 'For My Parents.' I like every Mono record, really, but this album, I feel, has allowed Mono to be more who they are and explore possibilities in what they have developed throughout their years together. I love the guitars. I love the orchestra, I love the beating heart of the percussion, I love the quiet piano, I love this record. Any Mono fan should be grateful for it as it will not disappoint them.

The Last Dawn. That "wavery" guitar tone at the beginning - it sounds intentionally damaged, like a signal struggling to get clear reception ... or a ravaged memory defying the passage of time ... the impinging years themselves on the verge of dissolving it. . . Then around the 5 min mark this memory develops an almost military cadence . . . while the lyrical wavelets build in support. . . the land between tides may be all that remains of our lives. In between the 7 and 9 minute marks, Glory begins to germinate, much like seashells revealed after a receding tide. A powerful two-part opener clocking in at eleven minutes.Track 2: Kanata: it means "the other", or "there" in Japanese - as in "over there" - the other side. We are greeted with an easygoing piano intro, quickly accompanied by Taka's expressive guitar notes. One of the things I've always admired about MONO is their deceptive drummer's style. Yasunori Takada plays a very simple kit, and seems to have basic beats, but in fact he tricks it up in subtle ways with odd signatures and a real solid style.Track 3: Cyclone. (Begins at the 18 min mark.) What is it about MONO's music that sinks its hooks in us? Well, there's the emotive quality of Taka's guitar-bending delivery, each note precisely struck from the aether in clear tones. There's also the uncanny timing in between notes, something I can't quite pinpoint myself but feel to be almost a mixture of precision balanced against imprecision. 4 minutes into Cyclone, and we can hear why it's called that - the signature-sustained rapidly-strummed guitar playing builds like one.Track 4: Elysian Castles. . . reminds me of their previous album, the somewhat understated FOR MY PARENTS. Here's MONO at their most subdued, at least for the intro to this song. This band for me has always been a key. A key toward unlocking a gateway. A gateway either into or from oblivion. Their music for me is a cue that we're about to take a journey throughout infinity. You never know what sights (signified by their sound) might be glimpsed . . . anything goes. This song aspires to open a window into paradise. I find the best way to see through these windows the band opens for us is to shut my eyes. This music strikes the perfect balance between a sort of background ambiance which may be ignored if playing in the house and a ritual dynamic tension that informs an abstract narrative anyone may easily visualize after their own longings.Elysian Castles seems to have come to an end, we must be arriving now at "Where We Begin," an interesting title for a penultimate track. You get the sense listening to The Last Dawn that we're about to pull through the halcyon memories of youth and emerge into the harsh starlight of our lives' epic conclusion. Intimations of the alpha and omega. Where death is transubstantiated into our actual spiritual awakening. By this song's end, we're catapulted through the turbulent process of returning to the endless sea of creation's ground zero. Each one of us like solitary tear drops returned to the primeval ocean. We've been set upon the very precipice of the ultimate cross road in our lives.When the title track The Last Dawn begins, we can feel it in the marrow of our bones. This is it. We are going to die. After our dreams have washed away with the outgoing tides, there is no longer any room for doubt. The crowning glory of our extended lives here on Earth must come to an end. We all must eventually face The Last Dawn -- whether we're aware of it or not. There seems to be a deeply hidden undercurrent, a certain circadian rhythm perhaps, to which the guitarists in MONO are perpetually returning to. Like the atomic clock keeping time in a universe so vast and mysterious it drowns all attempts toward comprehending it. So the band just goes with the flow, inviting the listener to accompany them. That's probably the best I can do toward describing what this music does for me. At the end of the album, the cymbals sound like waves splashing repeatedly on cold hard stone. The Sun is released one last time like a helium balloon whose string has been snipped. The album ends with a feeling of resounding silence.

Quite simply stunning.I'm new to the delights of Mono, having arrived via Caspian, This Will Destroy You, Mogwai, GSYBE etc.I'm now catching up and have bought quite a few Mono recordings. This is my favourite so far. Just beautifully stunning.

Thanks!

Excelent!

Creo que es imposible superar a "Hymns To The Immortal Wind". Es más, dudo que algún día lo hagan... Pero Mono tienen todavía cosas a decir, después de un par de obras maestras a sus espaldas. Curiosamente, en el año 2014 lanzaron dos discos separados: "Rays of Darkness" y "The Last Dawn". Si el primero nos devuelve su vertiente más oscura y descarnada (siendo, además, el trabajo más flojo que han firmado), "The Last Dawn" sigue explorando la faceta más suave y atmosférica de su sonido. Algunos dicen que empiezan a desgastar su fórmula: que ya suenan repetitivos... A mi, sinceramente, no me lo parece. De hecho, este disco sigue sonando tan emocionante y adictivo como cualquiera de sus grandes obras: temas como "Katana" o "Elysian Castles" -mis dos favoritos- son suficientes garantías para el que, para mi, fue uno de los mejores discos del pasado 2014. Emocionante, épico, envolvente y, a momentos, desgarrador: pura belleza y luz para unos tiempos oscuros. La carpeta es sencilla: no incluye insert, pero sí una funda con los créditos, así como un cupón con la descarga digital. No sé qué más puedo decir, aparte de que me he enamorado, profunda y sinceramente, de este disco.

....mit gleich 2 alben auf einen schlag beehren uns die japaner, und sie zeigen dass sie im übervollen bereich des postrocks weiterhin die könige sind...man sei sich einig gewesen, die orchestralen anteile zurückzufahren, die entscheidung ist goldrichtig finde ich..trotz der stärke des vorgängers, haben sie sich wieder auf die pfade von "hymn to the immortal wind" gemacht..wer jetzt die ganz innovativen veränderungen erhofft hatte, wird natürlich enttäuscht..mono hört man sofort raus aus all den (post)bands, was eine grosse stärke ist...alles wirkt wie aus einem guss, wobei die früheren ausbrüche ins extreme leider auch auf "last dawn" fehlen (ein kleiner tipp: das phantastische debüt der polen besides-"we were so wrong")..aber ähnlich wie bei mogwai wollen und brauchen sie dies wohl nicht mehr..hm..sehr reifes, tolles songwriting, grosse emotionen..kein meisterwerk, aber toll!