REVIEW: Monty Are I – Break Through The Silence

montyareiArtist: Monty Are I
Album: Break Through the Silence
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Rock
Label: Island Records

Rhode Island’s hometown heroes, Monty Are I, have come a long way. With the explosion of their success back in 2003, the underdogs have been able to send postcards and letters home from all over the country detailing their exciting tours with ‘big brothers’ My Chemical Romance, Anberlin, Taking Back Sunday and Yellowcard. After an almost three year silence since their first album, Monty Are I is back with their highly anticipated sophomore album, Break Through The Silence and indeed, they do break through the silence: but they do with almost nothing but hot air and awkward redundancies.

The album kicks off with the title track, “Break Through the Silence.” The typical rock anthem encouraging listeners to “raise your arms.” A unifying phrase that was coined by the likes of Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi more than twenty years ago, but here in 2009, it comes across as gimmicky and superficial.

As the album takes off, the maturity and darker tone weave in and out of each track. The band attempts to capitalize on the ‘big progressive sound’ of Coheed and Cambria and the ‘electronic-hard rock’ hybrid of Linkin Park. The result is an awkward collection of material lacking any true substance in the lyrics. Unless, of course, you’re into ‘picking up the pieces’ on “The Stand,” ‘fighting the pain’ on “On The Wire” or the inability to ‘break down that wall’ on “Kaleidoscope.” If that’s the case for anyone out there, the shallow diction that plagues a majority of the album may be waiting for you when you log into Facebook and see another one of those vapid status updates.

But perhaps the most embarrassing and uncomfortable track is the sappy love ballad, “All of You Tonight.” If the title isn’t enough of an indicator of the sloppy confessions to ensue, just give the track a couple seconds and you’ll realize it’s about as unsettling and hollow as David Letterman’s interview with Joaquin Phoenix back in February.

On the brighter side of things, the artwork is phenomenal, and the instrumentals do shine through at times. The exotic sounds of the sitar and other middle-eastern instruments on Desert and Mirage do call for some attention, but are quickly drowned out by mediocre cookie-cutter melodies, and raise the question, “haven’t I heard this all before?” The attempts at edgy breakdowns and electrifying guitar riffs are overdone, and in this day and age, there is nothing exceptionally unique about them.

All of this isn’t to say Monty Are I lacks in their abilities and emotion. Older gems like “Between the Sheets” and “Dublin Waltz” do a fantastic job of achieving a genuinely intriguing sound. I have hope for these guys, and I know they have it in them to bounce back from this sophomore slump, I mean, U2 did it with War…right? We’ll see how it plays out, but until then, Break Through the Silence isn’t anything worth writing home about.

5.5/10
Written By: Chris Parise

James Shotwell
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