Mono Men ~ Stop Draggin' Me Down (album review) ... By the owner of surf's Estrus Records!

Style: surf, alt rock, retro
Label: Estrus Records
Year: 1990
Home: Bellingham, Washington

Members: Dave Crider ~ vocals/guitar
Marx Wright ~ guitar/b. vocals
Ledge Morrisette ~ bass
Aaron Roeder ~ drums


Additional: Josei Cat ~ organ

For those that aren't familiar with the contemporary surf-retro-trash rock scene you're missing out on one of the largest underground markets. Born from the three-chord stomp of the Ramones, the feedback-laced energy & near cacophony of the Stooges, with the reverb heavy guitars of the Ventures & other surf bands, with a look of 50's sci-fi, cars & diners & a large illusion spread across their album covers that the music is more elaborate then it really is (i.e. one album I have describes the 3 chord rock as African jungle rhythms). Not as large as the leaders in the field (i.e. The Makers, Man or Astro-Man?, Los Straightjackets, Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - who did the soundtrack of tv's Kids In The Hall) the Mono Men do have their status ... though more so because founder Dave Crider owns one of the more respected surf labels Estrus Records in Bellingham, Washington. This was my first introduction to the surf sound & I've always felt for someone not familiar with the genre this is a good starting point. The Mono Men don't have the movie soundtracks dotting their albums like Man or Astro-Man? or popularized in the main stream by White Zombie, nor even the thematic look of either such bands. They also aren't as Ventures heavy in their influence & far more garage band raw in their music, i.e. the 3 chord progressions are overly obvious along with the fact that no song lasts longer than 3 minutes with solos often being more akin to feedback frenzies of pure energy than anything else. Though, it should be noted that this is also the band's recording debut. But, being in the middle of the spectrum they reflect neither the best nor the worst of surf rock. If you like this, you're probably going to like the majority of the rest of it. While, for example, if you like Rob Zombie's monster shtick you may not like the rest of heavy metal. This album features some great hits "Stop Draggin' Me Down", "Right Now", "No Way Back", "Ain't No Friend Of Mine", "Girl", "Stay Awake" & even the obligatory instrumentals (i.e. "Boss", "Daylight" & "Burning Bush"). High energy rock without any polish or flash!