The Monochrome Set - Fabula Mendax - Tapete Records - Out Now
Bookish founder and songwriter Bid has been at the helm of the quirky Monochrome Set for nigh-on 40 years, a considerable feat given the fate of many bands from the golden heyday of the Independent Albums charts. Less biting and perhaps marginally more accessible than former label-mates The Nightingales and Felt, The Set's ultimate selling points are literary lyricism, jaunty almost carnival pop melodies and a propensity for the odd Latin and Mariachi undertone in their arrangements.
Fabula Mendax references 15th-century manuscripts written by Joan of Arc's chum Armande de Pange, the Hundred Years War and a plotline from a period drama that's both comely and steamy. Summer of the Demon sounds like a rare Frankie Laine outtake, taken from a brutal western, My Little Reliquary could have been lifted from a medieval tale of ill-gotten gains and I Can't Sleep is like an eccentric horse-drawn canter across animated barren European wastelands. In a parallel universe, the latter would be a hit-single.
Sadly in ours, none of Fabula Mendax's nifty colourful little vignettes are likely to bother anyone other than die-hard fans. Buck the trend and immerse yourself in a band that have given the likes of Divine Comedy and Edwyn Collins much to sing about.
8/10
Fabula Mendax references 15th-century manuscripts written by Joan of Arc's chum Armande de Pange, the Hundred Years War and a plotline from a period drama that's both comely and steamy. Summer of the Demon sounds like a rare Frankie Laine outtake, taken from a brutal western, My Little Reliquary could have been lifted from a medieval tale of ill-gotten gains and I Can't Sleep is like an eccentric horse-drawn canter across animated barren European wastelands. In a parallel universe, the latter would be a hit-single.
Sadly in ours, none of Fabula Mendax's nifty colourful little vignettes are likely to bother anyone other than die-hard fans. Buck the trend and immerse yourself in a band that have given the likes of Divine Comedy and Edwyn Collins much to sing about.
8/10