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8.5/10
English post-punk band Squid returns just two years after their critically acclaimed project 'Bright Green Field'. With this being my first listening experience with Squid, I expected an ethereal experience, with stunning swelling synths and light but breathtaking vocals. To some point, I got what I wished for. Although it wasn't what I fully expected, it was still a pleasant listening experience.
"Swing" opens up the album with a video game-esque synth lead along with a distorted guitar adding a nice griminess. I love the minimalism of the drums, but vocally, the track is a bit messy for me. The outro, however, is excellent, with the guitar having its moment to shine and the drowned-out vocals adding a nice touch. "Devil's Den" follows, a track with passionate vocals and wonderful airy horns accompanied by a clean acoustic ballad. Although it's solid instrumentally, the pacing is just a bit unsatisfying.
"Siphon Song" offers up some great production, with a cool vocal effect and beautiful background harmonies. The layers of guitar add so much great feeling and texture, and the way the song builds is extremely hypnotic and daunting. I love the purely instrumental outro and the way it fades into this distorted and fuzzy sound. "Undergrowth" is a fine track with a nice groovy bassline and fluttery horns. The unique vocal performance on the chorus is lovely, and the pluckiness of the guitar adds an energetic feeling to the track. The track closes softly with a dreamy outro.
The triple track run of "The Blades", "After The Flash", and "Green Light" is perfectly done. "The Blades has nice fast-paced yet soft drums and sci-fi-sounding synths that add a trippy feel. The vocals are gorgeously done and the emotion and anger in Ollie's vocals in the second refrain leave you locked in. Again, the calmness and serenity of the outro is beautiful. "After The Flash" has a dirty distorted guitar and a godly-sounding synth that just opens up into the third verse during the break. The track sloes with some amazing layers of synths, keys, and horns, adding to the urgency of the vocal performance. The powerful vocals of "Green Light" take the cake, however, and the pacing of the drums is amazing and is mixed to just fill the song up perfectly. The repeating guitar pattern is boppy, along with another more fast-paced layer, adding to the energy. The slower breakdown in the outro is a lovely touch, too.
The closing track "If You Would Have Seen The Bull’s Swimming Attempts You Would Have Stayed Away" sounds just as intriguing and interesting as the title. It kicks off with Ollie whispering combined with dark synths and a rough electric guitar that joins in later. The instrumental makes so many subtle turns which I love. The tightness and tenseness of the outro are great.
'O Monolith' is a great project, but it's not perfect. Although there are moments when I'm stunned, there are also moments when the excitement isn't there. The peak of the project is in the lovely three-track run I mentioned. Other than that, the album is just solid instrumentals, but nothing breathtaking. The pacing of the tracks as a whole seems a little off at times, too. But wow; when those synths hit, they HIT. Hard.
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