Pilgrimage of the Soul

Since drummer Dahm Majuri Cipolla replaced original kitman Yasunori Takada in 2018, Mono have questioned virtually everything about their 20-year history. On 2019s Before the Past: Live from Electrical Audio, they revisioned three early tunes by introducing electronics, while Nowhere Now Here was an exercise in sonic grandeur and advanced composition. Pilgrimage of the Soul, their 11th studio effort, was recorded during the summer of 2020; it presents an integration of their history as the guidepost to their next chapter. Dynamics, always a cornerstone in Monos approach, have never been employed to such an abundant, imaginative degree as they are here. Further, the use of electronics is now part and parcel of their music-making formula. Opener Riptide commences with a muted drone and soft, warm, plectrum electric guitars introducing an implied melody. The track explodes a minute in with rapid-fire, machine-gun drumming, detuned power chords, and ringing synth drones as spiky six-string leads cascade across producer Steve Albinis mix. Tempo and volume increase amid power-riffing guitars and fuzzed-out basses that summon crescendos that vanish as quickly as they appear. Imperfect Things spends four of its six minutes as a ballad, Cipollas drums ratchet up the tempo and intensity as a soaring, near-lyric melody -- aided by pillowy electronics, orchestral strings, and buckets of distortion -- comes to the fore. Heaven and a Wildflower offers a painterly Wurlitzer piano in the foreground as ambient sounds and ocean waves whisper through the ether. Electronics, reeds, brass, and strings are threaded through the mix in an almost-Baroque fashion. Innocence perfectly balances drama, catharsis, and euphoria as strings interact aggressively with guitars up front. Drums dictate the pace, but the tunes ebb and flow pushes them to the margin where they are called on whenever dynamic tension dictates. The Auguries, governed by a rumbling bassline, strummed guitars, and humid tom-toms, sneaks up on the listener. It presents gentle, piecemeal instrumental interactions along a sparse melody but suddenly gels into a labyrinth of squall and fury. At 12:12, Hold Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand is suite-like in composition. The glockenspiel makes a welcome return to a Mono recording, underscoring and refracting the ghostly melody cinematically articulated by the guitars, Mellotrons, and synths. The ever-multiplying sounds communicate a plethora of emotions from libidinous desire and spiritual reflection to grief, sorrow, passionate release, joy, and above all the ache of yearning. Off-kilter drumming sets in motion a second tempo as guitars climb to meet it with raw power, brutal noise, and barely controlled feedback. Eternity in an Hour provides balance in closing with minimalist piano motifs hovering above ambient synths and strings a la Gavin Bryars. Pilgrimage of the Soul is at once a sonic portrait of everything Mono has ever been, yet looks toward a future rife with possibilities as increased physical and sonic force are tempered by graceful subtlety, tense drama, and haunted lyricism. ~ Thom Jurek