ISM
Monkey Underneath
STM Records 2006
www.ismmusic.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
Ism’s album combines the various genres of rock, industrial, trip hop and electronica to form a solid album with a variety of winning tracks.

Genre
Rock / industrial / electronica

The Good
The opening notes of “Beside The Sun” grab the ears and hold them throughout the song. It’s filled with some really good music. I liked that the band adeptly moves from the more up tempo songs like “No More” to slower paced songs such as “Monkey Underneath” and the closing track “Crazy Dream.” “No More” has a strong groove to it, while the rather mellow tone of “Crazy Dream” settles the band in your mind as the album ends. I thought the title cut featured the best vocal take of all the songs. The music was pretty well done throughout.

The Bad
Some of the songs simply left me cold overall. The music was solid, but I found myself uninterested in the majority of the songs lyrics. I attribute this mostly to the vocals themselves tending to lean towards a whiny sound. I don’t know what it is with some bands these days but the last time I checked it is not a crime against humanity to sing a song in a clear and declarative manner.

The Verdict
While I found a lot to like about Monkey Underneath, I still had a major issue with the vocal delivery. Musically the band is smoking and this comes from someone who has no interest in anything associated with trip-hop. If they just could do something about the vocals, they’d really hit it off with me.

Did You Know?
Ism vocalist/guitarist Andre Mistier has directed and produced 15 plays, including a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts