Blue Monday - Rewritten

Blue Monday

Rewritten

Bridge Nine Records

www.bridge9.com

First off, when it comes to music one has to accept that certain assumptions will be made about one’s music depending on one’s name, especially if a band has named themselves after a popular New Order song.  For example, Godflesh named themselves after an Alice In Chains track, and as to be expected they produce heavy, guitar-driven music that at times sounds not unlike Alice In Chains.  It all makes sense.

As such, one can assume based on the name “Blue Monday” that one will be greeted by catchy guitar hooks, poppy synth riffs, and maybe even nonsensical song titles.

This is not the case.

Rather, British Columbia’s Blue Monday crafts punk sprinkled with hardcore metal riffs, yet somehow do it without being affective.  Yes, they’re hardcore and yes they’re pissed off and loud about it, but the music never really engages the listener.  Beginning with “Turning The Tables” the album is the aural equivalent of jumping into a mosh pit, unrelenting and abrasive with occasional breaks to catch one’s breath, followed by a continued assault.  This vibe is evident throughout the album, as seen in track titles like “Next Breath”, “Drenched”, “Let It Out”, and “Bloody Knuckles.”

However, like a mosh pit the brutality is brief, each hit indiscernible from every other.  At the end of it all you know you’ve been through something rough but the specifics are hazy at best.  Such is Rewritten.