Ohio Sessions, January to March : The Town Monster

Ohio Sessions, January to March by The Town Monster

The Town Monster : Ohio Sessions, January to March.
Sounds like synth pop walking down a dark alley.

Ohio Sessions (January EP)
In the middle of snowy January 2010, The Town Monster announced on their MySpace page (yes, bands had those back then) that they would be putting out an EP on the last day of every month for the whole year. Shockingly, they did...and it's actually good.Recording and releasing a 44-song collection month by month month over the course of a year and in many locations would be a daunting task for any band. Nevertheless, while facing several lineup changes amidst relentless live performances, The Town Monster managed to churn out these bite-size albums one at a time, spanning numerous genres and managing to find their own particular sound in the process. The January EP begins with a brief acoustic tribute to their midwestern home before going straight into electropop territory. It ends with in icy piano ballad over glitched-out drum loops and orchestra samples, hinting at the numerous styles to come.

Ohio Sessions (February EP)
The February EP eventually became one of The Town Monster's most popular releases, and opening track "Raincloud" became a staple of their live show. On the remaining three tracks they begin toying with song structure and instrumentation, making use of 808s, banjos, pitch-shifted vocals, wind, rain, and samples from a song by the now-defunct Columbus band Burglar. "Birds and Bees are Natural Enemies" starts off almost sweetly, but the storm clouds make an ominous return, and by the end you are drowning in a flood of synthesizers. "Mongrel" is the band's best attempt yet at their own blend of mad circus rock. Although it serves the Ohio Sessions well, this EP stands out as a gem of its own.

Ohio Sessions (March EP)
March of 2010 saw the Monster in need of a new cave, and they temporarily found themselves in a dilapidated warehouse with no heat...and an EP to record if they were going to stay true to their word. According to the band, they could "see their breath during practice" and they would "record until their hands froze and they were forced to seek shelter". The recordings reflects the harsh conditions of their birthplace...they are abrasive and drenched in a metallic natural reverb from the giant open space they were taped in. Close listening reveals trains going by in the distance. The songs themselves are traditional/blues/hard rock at first glance, but the band's myriad influences still peek through with bits of melotron, destroyed keyboard, and ukulele. Vocally, this EP finds singer Nathan Photos becoming more comfortable in his own shoes, and these performances, which are mostly concerned with poverty and violence, sound scathing and desperate. This is Ohio rock at its finest.

Songs:

1. Ohio (Part One)
2. Neon Blue Graffiti
3. I Was Once Like You
4. Souls Go Out
5. Raincloud
6. Birds and Bees are Natural Enemies
7. Mongrel
8. Lightning Dragon Lady
9. Jackrabbit
10. Junkyard Dogs
11. Cold Black Heart Big Black Train
12. The Monster Sleeps (And Waits)
13. Ghetto Hymnal

Listen to: the entire album.

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Release date: 04/04/2013
The Town Monster lives in Ohio USA

Tagged as: Alt Rock, Folk-Rock, Prog Rock

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Downloads:

MP3: High quality MP3 variable-bit-rate files. Most people download these: they are audiophile files that play everywhere.
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AAC: High quality Apple Audio Codec files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, these files sound great and include CD art and artist info. This is the standard format provided by the iTunes music store.
WAV: Perfect quality WAV files. This format works everywhere, and is an exact audio copy of the original CD. It sounds fantastic. Album art and artist info is unfortunately not possible with this format.
FLAC Perfect quality open source FLAC files. This is an open source audio format. It is an exact copy of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
OGG: High quality open source OGG files. This is an open source audio format. It is a compressed (smaller file size) version of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
128k: Medium quality 128K MP3 files. These are medium audio quality MP3 files that will work on every device. The audio quality is good enough for most uses. These files are intended for cases where you want to conserve disk space.