Not a report on the great outdoors, unfortunately. Had The Weather been an up-to-date forecast then an umbrella would have been brought to the pub this is being written in. Caked in rain, moist from the damp outdoors and now nestled in with coffees and Skips packets to chow down on a new release from I Monster. Those legends who no doubt try and fail to brush off their Shaun of the Dead heyday are thankfully still around – their quality was assured when they enlisted Richard Hawley as a session musician. Good taste knows no bounds and for The Weather the experience is all the same. More of the good stuff, the bits, pieces and fluid motions which settled this fascinating double bill in as ones to be reckoned with.
This is far removed from those heady days on Neveroddoreven. A gentle, wonderful shock to the system from The Weather. Their streak of horrifying notions and creeping, crawling instincts on The Weather makes something as everyday as the skies feel unhinged and electric. I Monster are skilful at this anyway, so it should be no surprise The Weather is a tight three-and-a-half minutes of powerful music praying for deliverance from its electronic suffering. The duo pushes on with glitch-pop lingering around the sides of their rising instrumentals. More of this, inject it into the folds of your brain as soon as possible. I Monster has enough experience between them to make a major shift in tone, six years on from a proper album release.
Surely the next steps then? The Weather promises something utterly magnificent from I Monster – a tone and style to toy with which has not fallen into their lap with as much promise before. They never planned on a hit and may have the chance for some more if the cards are played right, and hopefully, The Weather kickstarts this. Buck the trend of fading away after a single – no need to be shy. I Monster has every right to be confident with this one, an assured and vital release which is stuffed full of smooth and relentless instrumentals which shake off their creeping, prowling introductions. What a return to I Monster. They were always on the radar just never beeping. The pulse this band so often set off is back and The Weather is a hell of a rekindling of love for this duo.
Where it takes them is anyone’s guess but it has to be somewhere – The Weather cannot last on its own. Backup and allies are needed, much like when you’re sat in the pub alone and the local crackhead steps over the mark, staring you down until you cower behind the back of the bar to finish this paragraph. Hide all you want; I Monster is back and are going to tear up the new year. The Weather is as strong an electronic surge as expected – and it is gorgeous to hear. Funky little numbers like this warm the soul on cold nights in the pub, supping colder coffees and waiting for the sun to come back up – though it feels far away get a bit of The Weather in you. It is the electronic burst of energy you need when the day starts to lag.
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