Catchy, crisp, and commendable

» ‘Disconnect’ by Monks of Mellonwah album review

Alex Stanton Staff Writer

OOOSS

hile some may dismiss

Sydney, Australia’s Monks of Mellonwah as just another indie-rock group with bright melodies and eclectic influences, their sophomore studio effort Disconnect is a collection of tunes that warrant a shot from those who like to dig deeper under the surface of alternative music.

The album opens the way

all great rock albums do: with a

the seven tracks, the first single, “Never Been Good,” is well- placed as track one. The rhythm section shines during this song with its stomp-clap drumbeat and the driving, fuzzy bass line. The second single, “Even When it Burns,” is every bit as good. The catchy chorus and vocal melodies are commendable, even if I’m not huge on the singer’s voice overall. One questionable decision was placing the two hit singles right at the beginning of Disconnect.

: Fans have likely already heard

: the songs when they made their : debut in April. “Even When It

: Burns” would have better served : its purpose somewhere in the

: middle of the slower songs or

: near the end. Anywhere except

; where it ended up.

“Show Me Something More”

: has a Pink Floyd vibe from The

: Division Bell era. Crisp keyboard: : and guitar work does the albuma : : service by showing off its quality : production. I’m not sure why

: the band decided to include

: “Interlude,” a short and sweet

: track that would have worked

: better as an extended intro to the :

: title track. strong beat froma bass drum. Of :

“Disconnect” is a decent

: attempt at a Paul McCartney-

: esque ballad, complete with the : blown-up production and lots

: of decidedly non-rock-sounding : instruments. It’s the softest

: number on the album and it gets : the job done adequately.

After a mostly soft middle,

: we come to “Feel it Coming”

: and “Look at Me,” two of the : more outright rock-and-roll

: songs on Disconnect. The

: former is somewhat inspired : by ’7os classic rock, and both

tracks—particularly the latter— : are heavily inspired by the : funkier side of the Red Hot Chili

: Peppers, making them two of the :

: more solid songs Disconnect has : to offer. Monks of Mellonwah is

: really tight and the production : is totally commendable—but

: Disconnect just feels like

: something that’s been done

: before.

: All of that being said,

il nonetheless recommend

Image from popdose.com

: Disconnect to anyone looking

: to spend 20 minutes listening

: to something nice. I honestly

: enjoy listening to the album: it

: doesn’t really bring a whole heap : of innovation to the table, but

: that’s okay.

Animesque: It’s about time

» ‘Steins;Gate’ throws time travel for a loop

Adam Tatelman Staff Writer

QOOSS

o the outside world, Okabe

Rintarou is a mild-mannered scientist working at the Future Gadget Laboratory in Akihabara, Japan. But inside he is HOUOQUIN KYOUMA, a grandstanding self-proclaimed mad scientist who accidentally invents a way to send text messages into the past. After witnessing a murder, Okabe texts his lab buddy Daru in the past, before the murder even happened. What follows is a spiralling, slow-motion spiderweb of unintended consequences permeating past, future, and parallel reality. Welcome to Steins;Gate.

Generally, stories about temporal ethics and the devastating mental strain brought on by reckless historical tampering are hard to write well. They accommodate unpredictable twists and second-viewing subtleties, but they’re easy to botch due to their inherent narrative complexity. Steins;Gate works in the long run because it takes the time to lay out its theoretical logic early on,

: interspersed with the character : backstory info dumps.

Unfortunately, this front-

: loading makes everything

: between the first and ninth

: episodes move very slowly. The

: rhythm is tranquil, ina numbing : sort of way, following a pattern

: of meet supporting character,

: run experiment, then havea

: big reveal. It plays out like a

: slice of life series at first, a sort

: of domestic sci-fi sitcom with

: cosplay geeks and gender-bent

: shrine maidens. Just trust that

: everything on-screen has a

: purpose. Once all the pieces are

: in place, the rest of the show is

: like watching dominoes fall—the : wait is agony, but the payoff is

: incredibly satisfying.

Over time, the supporting

cast grew on me—even the

: irritating, idiosyncratic ones, like : Okabe’s surrogate sister Mayuri.

: The aggressive sexual-tension-

: in-denial between Okabe and

: his hotheaded lab rival Makise

: Kurisu is especially fun to watch, : considering it plays out multiple : different ways over the course

: of the show. So do all of the cast

: members’ interactions, since

: Okabe regularly alters the past via : text and only he can remember

: the details from one timeline to

: another. No one is who you think

: they are. : The animation is less : dynamic than a typical action

: anime, mostly because

: Steins;Gate is a psychological

: thriller. That means a lot of

: sitting, standing, walking, and

: talking. You'll feel it when the

: characters get a move on, but

: the rest of the show feels static

: by comparison. This effect is

: lessened somewhat by the music,

ies

I can confidently say that

: Steins;Gate has the best dub I’ve : seen/heard so far. | attribute this : to White Fox Studios’ choice to

: cast J. Michael Tatum both as

: the script adapter and Okabe

: himself. This eliminates the

: middleman between the actor

: and writer, making adaptation

id

: with its ambient electric guitars : and sharp piano that accentuate : but never intrude.

yi

Image from Roosterteeth.com

: easier and dialogue clearer.

: Tatum’s performance as Okabe

: overshadows the rest of the cast. : It’s not that the others aren't

: good—it’s just that Okabe’s

: pretentious overacting is more

: memorable.

Steins;Gate asks a lot of hard

: questions and it’s not afraid to ask : them in a complex way. I consider : it one of the best anime released

: in the past five years.