Album Review: Aurorawave - Monument
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
As I sit down listening to this album for the second, third and fourth time, I’m still contemplating what to write, as there is just so much going on. The music bounces around from one genre to another with such effortless ease that it’s hard to focus on one aspect.
The reason I picked to review their new album “Monument” was because I was intrigued by the term reggaecore, as it wasn’t something I was overly familiar with. The quartet, fronted by Nathan Aurora, combine guitar heavy riffs with the offbeat rhythms of reggae, and do you know what, it’s extremely catchy. By the time you’ve finished opening track “Judge Me” featuring Aaron Gillespie of Underoath, you’ll be bopping your head along without even knowing it.
They have several guest appearances across the 11 songs, including Frankie Palmeri, Left to Suffer and reggae icon Jesse Royal, which all adds to the flair and sound of the album. There are moments in the album when I can hear early Linkin Park and bits of Fishbone, but the groove is undeniable. “Wave Shit” will get you off your seat, and has that rap/metal undertone, before “Suffocate” will take just makes you want to relax on a beach somewhere hot and drink a cocktail or two.
The heart of the music comes from Tanner Arebalo on drums, Mike Mocerino on guitar and Ray Worrick on bass. Their combined skills and influences, mean that they should attract a wide, diverse audience as it goes beyond genre definition. You get a deeper intensity on “Tibetian Sky Burial” which has that same feel in parts of Fever 333, and they have several tempo changes that make the song flow. The feeling is different again on “Turn the Page” which isn’t a cover of the Bob Seger classic, before “Seize the Day” featuring The Movement, will keep your fingers clicking, head moving and feet tapping with the laid back chilled out atmosphere.
“Villain” brings a bit of a heavier sound to the album, with nice calmer vocal sections, but you can feel the energy that the whole band are projecting through the delivery. The mid-section riff helps to give the song more of a punch and then you get the relaxed “Throwing Shade” with Royal, and this is a real gem of a track. If this doesn’t get you dancing then nothing will, and the guitar fills are nicely timed across the composition.
They show more diversity on next track “Never Gonna Stop Us” and the vocal range on display makes the song appealing. It’s followed by “Welcome to your Nightmare” which kicks off at a decent pace, and offers a range of tempos, both musically and vocally, as final song “Keep the Faith” rounds off the album, that should see the band pick up more new fans, both young and old.
