Considering the side project status, The Almost have been a fairly prolific recording band since inception in 2005, and while Aaron Gillespie’s Underoath are one of those ‘marmite’ outfits, there’s plenty to offer in terms of crossover appeal here.
Monster sees the band bounce through 19 minutes of fairly predictable-yet-inoffensive emo/pop/rock without tearing up much new ground on the precursor to second full length, ‘Monster Monster’. Opener Lonely Wheel and July are the high points and the closest the band get to finding their feet stylistically across the five songs. It’s mid-tempo, warble driven scene fodder, but the band should get credit where it’s due for exploring outside the “rules” of a particularly formulaic genre, even if they don’t quite pull off doing things like introducing elements of country (Monster) to the mix. It’s an example of something that’d be described as a ‘grower’, though in the way that listening to the songs enough times will probably displace the spot that some other, very similar sounding bands once sat.
Tom Aylott