Stream Mono’s Gloomy New Track “Nowhere Now Here”

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m generally not huge on purely instrumental bands. There’s a few, like Russian Circles, that I can jam with, but the expressive capabilities of the human voice can be so insane that I feel like there’s something missing when I don’t have anything to aggressively whisper along to.

That being said, Mono have managed to keep my fragile attention span afloat despite the lack of vocals. A band really needs to be able to vomit pure emotion through their instruments if they’re gonna keep it instrumental, and that’s where these Japanese post-rockers shine. Their dynamic music clearly lays out a scene and tells a story, and they do it all without needing someone to bellow the narrative into your face.

Mono have a new album coming out this winter, Nowhere Now Here, and the title track is available to stream now. “Nowhere Now Here” is a moody, cinematic rhapsody that captures the ear and leaves the imagination to run wild. While it doesn’t wander too far off its somber path, the linearity and repetition let the anguish of the track cut through that much more effectively.

Nowhere Now Here, which you can pre-order here, is out December 28th via Temporary Residence.