By Henry Lipput
Maisieworld is The Monochrome Set's follow up to 2016's Cosmonaut album. The lyrics of the title song from that album used science fiction imagery to tell the story of a drug-addicted supermarket cashier. With the new album, Bid, the group's singer, guitarist, and main songwriter, doubles down on those elements and has created a concept album that's part Stepford Wives and part Cybermen from Doctor Who.
"Give Me Your Youth," the first track on the album, starts with the sound of a snake's rattle and another not unlike that of a crocodile on the look-out for Captain Hook. There's talk of using parts of the young to upgrade (a Cyberman term) the old: "Give me your skin," "Give me your eyes," and "Give Me your son / give me your youth" as Bid sings in a sinister tone and is accompanied by a harpsichord (a nice touch for a song with a futuristic subject). There's a similar past and future mashup when a banjo is used as the primary instrument on the closing track "Maisieworld."
"I Feel Fine (Really)" is a rocking tune that seems to be about someone in need of an upgrade: "Are you well? / You look so pale / You better get some of the sun / Before your health begins to fail." "Cyber Son," however, is someone who has bought into the upgrade: "I don't ever break a leg or catch a cold / And I don't get old."
"Mrs. Robot" is where the Stepford Wives connection comes in (although the ones in this song are not as compliant). A computerized female voice says, "My name is Maisie;" and we are presented with a catalog of robotic offerings.
The arrangements for "Cyber Son," along with "Silence Is Rusty," remind me of The Kinks' own concept albums Preservation Acts I and II. There, and here in the work of The Monochrome Set, is some fine keyboard work, a horn section, and the use of female backing vocalists. Whether it's intended by Bid or not, this is a nice tip of the musical hat to an earlier, much-loved work.
"I always find it odd that people call us post-punk. I know that punk and New Wave started at the same time because I was there." So said The Monochrome Set's Ganesh Seshadri (also known as Bid).
The Monochrome Set's 1979-1985: Complete Recordings, a 6-CD / 6-LP box set, is a full account of the band's productive early period, their love of Lou Reed and American psychedelica, and a bird's-eye view of an under-appreciated chapter of British pop history
Unlike other British bands that came up at around the same time, like The Mekons and XTC, The Monochrome Set has been consistent in its sound and reliance on a guitar-driven, quirky worldview. In fact, some of the songs on disc one of Complete Recordings could easily find a place on either Cosmonaut or Maisieworld.
Maisieworld and 1979-1985: Complete Recordings are out now on Tapete Records.
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