Ohio Sessions, July to September by The Town Monster The Town Monster : Ohio Sessions, July to September.
Sounds like synth pop walking down a dark alley.


Ohio Sessions (July EP) - Once again, the band did a 180 and released three songs featuring acoustic guitars and almost all major chords. It is bouncy and up-tempo, even featuring a song called "Summertime" that might be the closest they have yet come to straight-up pop music. The other two, "For Your Love" and "Why Does it Have to Hurt?" both come off sappy and sweet due to their Motown/traditional rock vibe, but the whole set are actually quite somber in their content. By the end you realize this is plastic, Lego sunshine and it can't possibly last. And in that sense, the band captured the fleeting beauty and the essence of Summer in the best way a (typically) dark electronic rock band possibly could.

Ohio Sessions (August EP) - Although this EP is a personal favorite of mine, there are arguably no "standout" tracks in this bunch. Instead, the band is more focused, quieter. You can finally begin to see them trying to adopt a "less is more" attitude, and the songs flow together quite well, despite the usual genre-hopping. "The Silver Thread" and "I Am The Forest Floor" (which feature the band's usual drummer Matt Grady on acoustic guitar) have a transcendent, otherworldly quality about them and frankly sound unlike any other band. Of course they bear resemblances to countless artists, but these songs, despite their flaws, are unmistakably and undeniably The Town Monster and no one else. The album closes with a gorgeous indie-style piano ballad that sounds like a tip of the hat to The Doves or The Autumns. It's a bittersweet kiss goodbye to the summer, and a surprising EP from a band full of surprises.

Ohio Sessions (September EP) September wound up becoming the most popular of the Ohio Sessions EPs and it's easy to see why. "One Thousand Wolves" became one of the band's most beloved songs, garnering heavy local radio play on CD102.5. "Dirty Little Secrets", with its cheesy church organ and steadily-picked bass could have been plucked straight from an 80's album if it weren't so strangely modern. This is music for vampires who also happen to love Bruce Springsteen. The closing track, "Pawn Shop", was the only song out of all 44 released during the Ohio Sessions that the band posted by itself on their Facebook page and said, "Listen to this one, it's good." Their first real venture into industrial music, it manages to feel like an old Sneaker Pimps or Massive Attack song with overdubs by Mars Volta and hints of, dare I say it...black metal? Whatever you want to call it, this was the point when people realized this band was not like other bands.


Songs:

1. For Your Love
2. Summertime
3. Why Does it Have to Hurt
4. Voicebox
5. The Silver Thread
6. I Am the Forest Floor
7. When the Autumn Comes
8. One Thousand Wolves
9. Dirty Little Secrets
10. Pawn Shop

Listen to: the entire album.


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Release date: 07/14/2013
The Town Monster lives in Ohio USA

Tagged as: Alt Rock, Rock, Prog Rock


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