If I had to name my favorite Connecticut band from the 90's it would almost have to be Monsterland, though I realize I might be losing some people here. None of my fanzine buddies ever seemed to like Monsterland much-- maybe Scott Munroe did, I don't remember-- but the spot that their records took among my crates of 7"-ers was pretty hefty back then, even if time and wear have lessened that somewhat.
Noisy pop was a pretty easy product to bump into at the time-- I mean, you could close your eyes in a record store and still come out carrying literally handfuls of the stuff if you weren't careful-- but Monsterland took the whole wannabe-Britpop/shoegazer thing and turned the amps up on it, adding some metal riffs and a way more over-the-top approach while still retaining the melody and the more typical spacey, droney bits.
Although this is Monsterland's first stab at vinyl (after releasing a demo on TPOS called "Smile", which I don't have), it's still one of their best. "Nobody Loves You" kicks off with a slamming drum intro and then motors into a riff that sounds totally like a sped-up version of Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla", while "Used To Smile" uses the same stuttering guitar bit that I first heard (and loved) on Negative Approach's "Evacuate", though obviously not as harsh.
Post-Monsterland, Greg Vegas went on to form Explodee, and I got lucky enough to put their only record out. Meanwhile, Thom Monahan went on to play with Chappaquiddick Skyline and the Pernice Brothers, and he was also with the Lilys when I saw them play a fantastic show at Brass City Records around 1997 or so. I know, I'm just so fucking alternative.
Monsterland -
"Nobody Loves You"
"Used To Smile"
(these files are now listen-only)
6 comments:
Thanks a ton for posting this! Monsterland was a great band. All I have though is the full-length and the Loser Friendly EP.
The album is great, but I gotta admit that "Loser Friendly" is my least-favorite Monsterland record. It's kind of a dud, actually.
If you like "Destroy What You Love", keep an eye out for the "At One With Time" EP; I think it's still widely available for cheap on places like Amazon.com, and there's some really good stuff on it.
Great post. Monsterland were a huge, huge favorite of mine, circa 1993. I believe I have all of their singles. "Girlfriend on Drugs" was the tune that realy lit a fire under me. I actually have an original copy of the Smile tape, and may upload at on my blog (http://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com) but no promises ; )
thanks for the love Dave.
I'm posting this on the Monsterland myspace page.
Greg Vegas
Cool!
There will be more Monsterland to come...
At long last, the mp3 files on this post are now listen-only (non-downloadable) files. Certainly for any Monsterland fans out there, I will do my best to respond to any e-mailed requests for the original files.
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