Reviews: MONO, Junius, Plaindrifter, Gin Lady (Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

MONO - Snowdrop (Temporary Residence Limited) [Matt Bladen]

It’s difficult to lose a friend, difficult to lose a colleague, difficult to lose someone who you have been intrinsically linked with for so long, but when Steve Albini passed away in 2024, Japanese band MONO lost a collaborator, colleague and friend all at once.

His unrivalled production skills has featured on hundreds of albums, this made him one of the most recognisable and revered names in his field, but to MONO he was more than that, he was their “fifth Beatle” the concrete foundation upon which their work could be built upon, with a scientific understanding and emotional connection to their working process and exactly what made MONO tick.

This led to a period of uncertainty the grief of losing a friend but the more practical fear of losing such an integral part of the band, they must have asked themselves if they would ever sound the same again?

That is until they found Brad Wood a friend and devotee of Steve Albini, he too is a producer having made records with Touché Amoré and The Smashing Pumpkins, so he sat in the chair at Electrical Audio, Albini’s studio and alongside conductor Chad McCullough, a 10-piece orchestra and an 8-piece choir and rebuilt MONO, the group creating Snowdrop and record that this as intense as it is intimate, fuelled by the love of a brother.

This is a record that celebrates rather than commiserates, celebrating life rather than mourning death. It pays tribute to Albini, through Wood being sympathetic to the production style he had locked in with MONO, but also sees the band embracing their new working relationships and a jump into the unknown.

Snowdrop begins with the elegant title track, the guitars shimmering across the stereo spectrum, defined left and right instrumentation throughout, you must listen to this on good headphones or through good speakers to really hear it. The title track is like the first buds of spring flourishing at the start of the record before unfolding into the stunning duo of Winter Daphne where the orchestra and choir really come into their own and the triumphal feel of Gerbera, the drums like a distant marching band keeping the time against the orchestral swells.

From here Statice has me thinking of film soundtracks, it's the repetition, the piano and the whole general feel of it I think, especially comparing it to Hedera where the guitar is king, shifting back to the post rock early days of the band. However MONO's music has always been cinematic, songs built for never-ending horizons and long distance travels through beautiful vistas.

Fans should not fear, their first record without Albini behind the desk since 2014's The Last Dawn/Rays Of Darkness double release, is a tribute to the great man from those that loved him while also being another epic, evocative performance from this band who communicate through their virtuosity in an unspoken way. 9/10

Junius - Sotera (Prosthetic Records) [Matt Bladen]

Boston band Junius return after nearly a decade with their new album Sotera, which in the words of founding member Joseph E. Martinez "feels like a rebirth for the band".

Which it sort of is as vocalist/guitarist Martinez and drummer Dana Filloon are the only founding members of the band left, the rest of these soundscapes brought to life by Eoghan Mccarthy (guitar), Matthew Vincenty (guitar) and Orion Wainer (bass).

So yes folks it's another post metal band with three guitarists, but when you hear the density of Junius' music you'll understand why three guitarists are the minimum, shifting from colossal heaviness into introspective atmospheres, there's so much to unlock musically with this record, is no wonder they've been compared to the likes of Tool, Deftones and Cult Of Luna.

Produced by Martinez and Tom Syrowski (Blackberry Smoke, Mastodon), Sotera is a collection of songs where dynamics are key, undulating between ominous distortion and bright ambience, the angst of Deftones, sneer of Tool and the gothic brooding of Type O Negative all prominent in the expressive vocals of Martinez.

You could apply the term symphonic shoegaze to the album as while they do a lot of repeated shuffling and looking at their toes, the instrumentals layer across each other for a wall of expression and shifts in volume that comes from that 90's era of alt rock experimentation.

A record dedicated to Hekate and divine feminine powers, it's their first album not to be confined to just the conceptual but carry a narrative thread, rather than storytelling rigidity, so maybe Sotera is Junius relaxing into being a band after nearly 20 years.

The various genre tags that can applied all getting a bit muddled, as these tracks always offer something different to the last, yet retain a musical dexterity that's hard to define. A clash of sounds that create a post-something noise any devotee of the 90's alternative music scene will feel very comfortable inside. 8/10

Plaindrifter - Gestalt (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

Germany's Plaindrift have figured out the perfect and delicate balance of being both proggy and heavy on their amazing new record, Gestalt, brought to us by the best label in heavy rock, Ripple Music. These six songs walk the proggy/stoner/metal tightrope with the greatest of ease, bringing the best of all three of those genres to Gestalt.

Amazing vocals, killer musicianship, and the songs…the songs are breathtaking. Immediately you feel this with the opener, Moth Murmuration, which goes in lots of directions but never waivers too far to allow you to keep guessing but never questioning the direction chosen. Eternal Season is right with it, with some amazing guitar work and next-level songwriting. 

Hyborian Age starts out like it is getting you settled in for what will be quite the journey and that is exactly what you get for those seven amazing minutes that makes up my favourite track on the record. The heaviest song and riff, of course, has Ryan Garney guesting on it, as the middle psych-y part of this seven and a half minute trip leads to Garney’s killer vocals to close it out. Great stuff. Debaser closes Gestalt, pretty much defining what heavy prog should sound like moving forward.

Plaindrifter is just locked in on Gestalt. This record should be held up next to any album proclaiming to stay heavy and still wander into progressive territories, without ever being a parody of itself but instead helping to define what this genre should sound like. Another amazing Ripple Music release. 9/10

Gin Lady - Toads And Diamonds - Volume I: Live in Spain (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

If the Allman Brothers were from Sweden they may have toured with Gin Lady, and this set, from Gin Lady’s 2025 tour of Spain, shows that the band would have hung with those legends on stage, given how great Toads And Diamonds - Volume I: Live In Spain sounds.

Gin Lady has been around for a while now and has a great back catalog that they sample a lot of on Toads And Diamonds - Volume I: Live In Spain. The highlight for me is I'm Your Friend, where the guitar work and the harmonies are so precise and beautiful while still giving this raw live feel. I also love the chunky Flower People, with this Neil Young thing it has going on, Crazy Horse background vocals and all. 

Another amazing live band, My Morning Jacket vibes emit from Far Beyond The Sun while the most Allmans track musically, Brothers Of The Canyon, could not have been a better closer, leaving the crowd moving and wanting more. The Byrds-like harmonies pair perfectly with the Southern jamminess of the song. The sound of Toads And Diamonds is great, capturing the band in all their glory while also getting all the little intricacies of their sound.

This would have been quite the show to attend, but at least we get Toads And Diamonds - Volume I: Live In Spain for those of us who have not had the honour of seeing the amazing Gin Lady live and in the flesh. A killer live record in a time where they are few and far between. 9/10