Band : Lifestory:Monologue
Album : Drag Your White Fur - Make It Grey
Release Year : 2011
Genre : Experimental | Indie | Post-Hardcore
Tracklist :
1. Drag Your White Fur
2. Make It Grey
3. Thornberry
4. Finger Painted Notes
5. The Sound That Love Makes
6. Candles
7. Teratoma
8. Between the Rocks and the Clouds
9. Stations
10. Lessons
It is likely that you have not heard much about Lifestory:Monlogue, unless you come from the scene where the band has been working incredibly hard for the last six years. Over those six years, the band has released a handful of EPs, but now, Lifestory:Monologue is finally here with their full length record, Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey. Combining elements of post-hardcore, experimental, indie, and ambience all together into one record, Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey is sure to impress a lot of people. The album opens up with “Drag Your White Fur,” a slow, peaceful track lead by Bassist / Vocalist Jay Reid’s vocals. The track leads into “Make It Grey,” which explodes at the 1:13 mark, flowing into the first appearance of vocalist Richard Nuttall’s sing-speak style vocals, backed by the predominant use of keyboards, provided by Zac Tenwesteneind.
“Thornberry” and “The Sound That Love Makes” will be remembered by fans from Lifestory:Monologue’s Thornberry EP, released earlier this year. “Thornberry” is another slower track, which puts emphasis on Jason Gormley and Mike Short’s quaint guitar work, as Reid and Nuttall trade off vocals throughout the track. “The Sound That Love Makes” comes in with pounding drums, courtesy of Brett Banks, as the two guitarists provide intricate guitar work over top. The sombre lyrics “Oh loneliness, oh loneliness. I never thought you’d exist in a fashion such as this,” add to the dark nature of the song, as Nuttall and Reid sing over top of each other.
Sandwiched between the two older tracks is “Finger Painted Notes.” Nuttall’s speech like delivery of the verses allows the poetic lyrics to shine the best they do throughout the entirety of Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey. Lyrics like “Do words composed in illegible scratch lack depth?” are littered throughout the track, making the listener ponder Nuttall’s thoughts, even after the track is over.
As the album closes off, the listener gets treated to “Stations.” Reid’s bass line is as prominent as ever throughout the track. Paired with Nuttall’s distinct vocals and Banks’ drumming, the track has a very calming feeling. The band uses their guitar work, in the second half of the track, to really show off the ambient aspect of their music. At the very end of the album comes “Lessons.” Nuttall’s voice feels as harsh as ever, which suits the song perfectly, as it is one of the heaviest to date. Dark lyrics like “There is a cancer deep inside me growing with each and every storm,” makes the song hit harder than almost any other in the group’s discography. The band leaves the listener with “The end is near and I’m sorry dear, it’s not long for me here,” as the last line, making them sit there and think over what they just listened to.
There are many bands out there with lots of talent, and others with an unending amount of emotion poured into their music, but it is rare to find both these qualities, at their best, in one band. Fortunately, with Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey, Lifestory:Monologue has displayed that they have equal amounts of talent and emotion. This album will leave many speechless, simply thinking about many of the thoughts that come up through it. There is no denying that Lifestory:Monologue have released one of the most impressive album to come out in 2011, and hopefully this will be the album that gets their name out there. -Brandon Hrywkiw
2. Make It Grey
3. Thornberry
4. Finger Painted Notes
5. The Sound That Love Makes
6. Candles
7. Teratoma
8. Between the Rocks and the Clouds
9. Stations
10. Lessons
It is likely that you have not heard much about Lifestory:Monlogue, unless you come from the scene where the band has been working incredibly hard for the last six years. Over those six years, the band has released a handful of EPs, but now, Lifestory:Monologue is finally here with their full length record, Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey. Combining elements of post-hardcore, experimental, indie, and ambience all together into one record, Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey is sure to impress a lot of people. The album opens up with “Drag Your White Fur,” a slow, peaceful track lead by Bassist / Vocalist Jay Reid’s vocals. The track leads into “Make It Grey,” which explodes at the 1:13 mark, flowing into the first appearance of vocalist Richard Nuttall’s sing-speak style vocals, backed by the predominant use of keyboards, provided by Zac Tenwesteneind.
“Thornberry” and “The Sound That Love Makes” will be remembered by fans from Lifestory:Monologue’s Thornberry EP, released earlier this year. “Thornberry” is another slower track, which puts emphasis on Jason Gormley and Mike Short’s quaint guitar work, as Reid and Nuttall trade off vocals throughout the track. “The Sound That Love Makes” comes in with pounding drums, courtesy of Brett Banks, as the two guitarists provide intricate guitar work over top. The sombre lyrics “Oh loneliness, oh loneliness. I never thought you’d exist in a fashion such as this,” add to the dark nature of the song, as Nuttall and Reid sing over top of each other.
Sandwiched between the two older tracks is “Finger Painted Notes.” Nuttall’s speech like delivery of the verses allows the poetic lyrics to shine the best they do throughout the entirety of Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey. Lyrics like “Do words composed in illegible scratch lack depth?” are littered throughout the track, making the listener ponder Nuttall’s thoughts, even after the track is over.
As the album closes off, the listener gets treated to “Stations.” Reid’s bass line is as prominent as ever throughout the track. Paired with Nuttall’s distinct vocals and Banks’ drumming, the track has a very calming feeling. The band uses their guitar work, in the second half of the track, to really show off the ambient aspect of their music. At the very end of the album comes “Lessons.” Nuttall’s voice feels as harsh as ever, which suits the song perfectly, as it is one of the heaviest to date. Dark lyrics like “There is a cancer deep inside me growing with each and every storm,” makes the song hit harder than almost any other in the group’s discography. The band leaves the listener with “The end is near and I’m sorry dear, it’s not long for me here,” as the last line, making them sit there and think over what they just listened to.
There are many bands out there with lots of talent, and others with an unending amount of emotion poured into their music, but it is rare to find both these qualities, at their best, in one band. Fortunately, with Drag Your White Fur – Make It Grey, Lifestory:Monologue has displayed that they have equal amounts of talent and emotion. This album will leave many speechless, simply thinking about many of the thoughts that come up through it. There is no denying that Lifestory:Monologue have released one of the most impressive album to come out in 2011, and hopefully this will be the album that gets their name out there. -Brandon Hrywkiw
