Monday Morning Sun – The Usual Mile

From the remnants of Xmas Lights come Monday Morning Sun, an Oxford/London duo with their debut EP. Bad Bones kicks things off with frantic dramatised emergency calls, before dropping some sweeping noises and low bass sounds and slinking into a repetitive groove. Some mysterious electronic vocals kick in for a while, but the relaxed yet unrelenting groove presses on regardless. Around eight minutes you think it’s going to end, as white noise envelopes proceedings, but eventually the beat kicks back in. And on it goes, for just over eleven minutes, although it doesn’t seem overly long. Blind Leading The Blind is springy and initially sounds like a gothic choir chanting over an electronically treated didgeridoo. Doesn’t sound like it should be great, but it works well. Then some doom laden vocals arrive and things plod along somewhat, the music atmospheric and industrial. Never Put A Foot Wrong is a very cyclical sound piece of music, it sounds like it might break of into a jig or reel or even some crazy flamenco. Eventually some very Ian Curtis style sombre vocals arrive, not altering the music one jot. It’s very repetitive music, but wonderfully easy to get lost in their dark world. Smoke And Mirrors starts out suitably hazy and this is the first tune that is rather lacking in dynamics, and at five minutes plus it takes some going. Questions is doomy again, and stomps through the quagmire stalking its prey. The tune sounds like its wearing heavy boots, and squelches electronically. The lyrics are odd intoned stuff about why questioning why and letting sleeping dogs lie. This EP is weird and wonderful and very dark, but ultimately rewarding.

The Usual Mile is self released and out now
Monday Morning Sun myspace is here