Sainthood Reps - Monoculture

Artist: Sainthood Reps
Album: Monoculture
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Label: Tooth & Nail Records

Lately, the music industry has been in a place where many artists have been selling out to still make it as a band. Sainthood Reps are not one of those bands. One of Tooth & Nail Records' latest editions, the band is completely different than any other band on the label. In fact, Sainthood Reps sound more like a band that the label would have signed possibly 10 years ago, with a both aggressive and delicate indie rock sound, which draws comparisons to that of Tooth & Nail alumni mewithoutYou and As Cities Burn, as well as bands such as Brand New. The Brand New influence comes as no surprise, as the band's guitarist, Derrick Sherman, is also the guitarist of Sainthood Reps.

The chaotic title track kicks off Monoculture, followed by the quirky "Dingus," a song with slow verses that build into a yelled chorus of "Who do you think you are?" "Telemarketeer" is a much slower song, kept downbeat, and has a melancholy, almost atmospheric vibe to it, which carries into the soft intro of "Animal Glue." After the intro however, "Animal Glue" breaks out of its mold into edgy guitars, and contains one of frontman Francesco Montesanto's best vocal performances on the album.

Taking on a more subtle note is "Hunter," a simplistic track made up of a softly strummed guitar, and some minimal percussion at times, before heading back into the album's more raw and chaotic nature, on "No/Survival."The tempo is changed up again, on the melodic "Hotfoot," one of Monoculture's most memorable moments, a well-structured song that features some vibrant guitar work. "Holiday Makers" takes on a dreary sound, not uncommon to indie rock, but is done very well, with haunting background vocals towards the end of the song, meshing together with the lead vocal part, for an interesting mix. Following in suit, the rest of the album is a bit more toned down as well, with the mainly soft "reactor, reactor, reactor, REACTOR!, that does build up for a yelled chorus of "Watch the world melt away," before moving into the closing "Widow." The song comes off as somewhat Manchester Orchestra-esque, but with a bit more stripped down feel, that the band pull off very well.

Overall: Sainthood Reps are a fresh face to the modern indie rock scene, and certainly have something to prove with Monoculture. From chaotic, yelled parts, to subtle, simplistic sections, the album contains a lot of diversity, spread throughout its 10 tracks. Although not the best album I've heard of the genre, Monoculture is certainly a good one, proving to be one of the best albums that Tooth & Nail have put out this year, and I think that Sainthood Reps have a lot to offer, with their raw, edgy sound, so be on the look out for more good things to come from this band in the future,

Rating: 8/10

Reviewed by Brooks Ginnan

Tracklisting:

1. Monoculture
2. Dingus
3. Telemarketeer
4. Animal Glue
5. Hunter
6. No/Survival
7. Hotfoot
8. Holiday Makers
9. reactor, reactor, reactor, REACTOR!
10. Widow