Twangs of neo-psychedelic sounds felt inevitable for I Monster. Those trip-hop favourites are back. To what end is not certain. No rumblings of an album. Not a flicker of interest in updating their rabid fans. Nothing beyond The Weather and The Desert. At least it is something. Whatever I Monster is keeping from the public is infuriating, yet alluring as they pluck us out of the grim ocean of constant release. The Desert and its previous single feel sudden. Pulled from nothing. Maybe that is the point. Whatever the case, it marks a neat retreat from the swarm and buzz of being always aware and alert. Strike it off, stick this on and relax. What worked so well for The Weather feels lacklustre for The Desert.
A sense of creeping nursery rhymes filters through with this vocal performance, the disembodied narrator telling of spectacles unknown in the desert. Whether it is salvation or a sacrifice is not the point, but it feels like a striking detail to leave out of a track hellbent on being a mysterious, uncomfortable number. Catchy but broad. The Desert has all the rumblings of some bass-stricken new piece from I Monster but filters in some very plain and expected guitar work. At its core is the sudden boom of electrified sounds, the wails of a narrator at first uninterested but then dragged into the story, unfolding as it does with all the whirrs but ending suddenly. It leaves a lacklustre spread of ideas, nowhere close to the booming joy or rhythm found on I Monster’s previous single.
But if the point is not a comparison, then The Desert fails to stand out on its merit. As a continuation, it can serve well but as a static piece, it finds itself flailing, lingering around in a wasteful style. The Desert may present some cool waves and repetitive clacks of smooth beats but it could not be further from the stifled fear it hopes to kindle. I Monster has enough within this release, the chilling pangs and unsettled feeling which lingers throughout, but it feels at odds with itself once it launches into a spiralling guitar frenzy – and as brief as it may be it does stunt the growth of these overpowering, well-moved screeches. Otherworldly proportions are lost in specifics of carbon coats and futuristic fluff which I Monster does not sound all too content with.
Still, it gets the job done, which should never be the words to describe a song from the brains behind Neveroddoreven, yet here we are. Despite its grand pace and instrumental character, I Monster struggles to mark their tech-loving exploits as anything more than that, an exploit of a deep love for sci-fi which has boomed through popular audiences over the last few years. The Weather was a promising, moody beat. The Desert is still a moody number but does not have the nerve or the independent energy of a true, assured track. Something is lacking – its core is not quite there yet The Desert still hopes to tell a tale told a thousand times already. Deserts, carbon and the like are all mixed in with little clarity and a promising instrumental which cannot live up to its expectations.
