Moneen – The Red Tree

  • Scott De Palma posted
  • Reviews

Moneen

The Red Tree - Smallman Records, Vagrant Records

In an effort to cut the length of my reviews, i’ll start out by saying I love this album and I love MoneenMoneen are one of Canada’s most underrated bands involved in the “punk scene” and their latest album “The Red Tree” is sure to tide over a new wave of fans. With emotionally charged vocals complimented by experimental epic-like journeys through the high’s and low’s of each note, people might not fully be able to appreciate Moneen from a first listen. For me that’s one of the major draws to The Red Tree, its none of the “radio friendly, throw on some make-up, lollipop punk” that a lot of labels are putting out today. The album on all fronts is filled with a lot of depth.

I have a hard enough time to find the right words to describe how good this CD really is let alone to attempt to describe Moneen‘s sound. Its crazy and all over the place yet soft and beautiful, fast and slow, happy and sad, loud and aggressive, delicate and passionate and simply put absolutely amazing. “Don’t Ever Tell Locke What He Can’t Do” and songs like “Bleed And Blister (version 3)” will have you putting your best mosh on while singing along loudly within your first couple of listens. However the real depth of the album lies in songs like “The Day No One Needed To Know” and “There Are A Million Reasons…” that are so powerful they will move you to tears. The Red Tree is a perfect blend of songs that will intrigue you instantly, and beautiful, graceful songs that will keep you coming back for more giving you a chance to slowly grasp the fullness found within each riff, groove and lyric. Lyrically you would be hard pressed to find a shallow line as Kenny writes a lot of “Life, Tragedy and Disaster” about real life experiences, and not just about his own personal experience but that of others. “Nothing’s O.K. We’ve been lied to. We’re so frail, You can pray, Scream out his name. While they all keep sinking away“, is a perfect example of the intensity of the meaningful lyrics that need to be heard to capture the passion behind the voice. Musically Moneen often branch out from your standard power chord riff into something a bit more experimental trying to discover new sounds and new ways to portray the sound they want you to hear. It all flows and intertwines together with a perfect mixture of everything with never too much or too little of anything.

In every aspect The Red Tree is stunning. If you are slightly enticed by any of Moneen‘s previous songs, then you owe it to yourself too purchase this masterpiece.