Shiver by Mona Medusa

I enjoy listening to an album and getting a real feel for what the band
likes doing. Mona Medusa's debut album, Shiver, makes no secrets
about what this band loves, and that's layering up some rock sounds
in blankets thick enough to sleep in.

Mona Medusa picked up a classic rock flavor, complete with a few choice
blues licks, threw in some 90's alt-rock (dare I say "grunge"?) , a
little post-punk (yes, shouting choruses too!), and did something
really good: they made a cohesive rock sound out of it.

The opening track tells us instantly we are about to hear a rock album. But
this is thinking man's rock and roll: spaces, tones, dynamics. A quiet
energy is building, and taking its time.

What is Will Be plunges us in full force. The dry production is a little
strange at first: I wanted something more assaulting, dirty, nasty. But it's a
blessing, because there's these nice little bits of layering going on
in the sound that might be lost if it weren't so clean. There's a very
full rock sound going on here. The rhythm guitar and female vocals
aren't accessories, they're essential to the sound.

Like you'd expect from a big rock sound, there's the quintessential synth
effects going on here and there. That's always dangerous stuff. The
sweeps on All Just Lame threaten to be overbearing, pushing
aside the riffs and melodies we need to hear, but reins itself in well
enough. There's a bit of clash in the sound sometimes (mostly the
vocals), but the occasional roughness only serves to sharpen the edges
of Mona Medusa's sound. This is a band not afraid to take risks and
bust a few genres. There's no compromise in making sure the music stays
rich and layered: you can feel the collective sweat from tracks like
Catharsis and Ousire.

There's also a few more tracks like the beginning with a strong vocal
and melodic instrumental presence. Water and Women (Reprise), and
Fire and Glass give us a bit of a breather from the normally intense drive
of the album without breaking the flow, then The Abyss takes us out of the
album quietly, with a kind of mystery that makes you want a little more.

This whole "rich, layered sound" in rock music is tricky, so to not fall
flat on its face is an accomplishment in itself. But Shiver pushes
beyond that. This is a genuinely impressive first album. The thought
put into writing the music is very much there. It's fair to say Shiver
is a diamond in the rough, but it doesn't take any polishing to know
this is a diamond worth keeping.
-Skid McGruff
Lychee Media