PLURAMON 'THE MONSTROUS SURPLUS'

(Karaoke Kalk, 2007)

01 the monstrous surplus/turn in
02 border
03 if time was on my side
04 drowning in you
05 snow blow
06 fresh aufhebung
07 k-land
08 can't disappear
09 the kids are united
10 fishing
11 so

"'The Monstrous Surplus' follows its predecessor perfectly and builds on its successes taking the crushed, dreamy indie-rock sound into places it has rarely been before. The album crashes into life with 'Turn in' and instantly we are once again in Schmickler's rich, melodic clutches with thick waves of guitar, reverberating compressed rhythms and those silken female vocals from none other than Julee Cruise. This is a match made in heaven, the perfect marriage of vocalist and producer and not since 1993's 'The Voice of Love' has Cruise sounded so at ease with the noises around her. Interestingly however 'The Monstrous Surplus' is the first time Schmickler himself has allowed himself room to sing, and on 'Border', the song's clear stand-out track it is Schmickler who makes the biggest impression as a vocalist. Backed up by German vocalist Julia Hummer (who appears on much of the rest of the album) his deep tones bring to mind classic 90s indie rock and don't sound forced or over-done, rather there is an innocence and purity which is hard to ignore. This is how the album succeeds over so many others in the genre, there's a sense that Schmickler has the desire to create pure dream pop music, and is slowly perfecting that art over his many albums. 'The Monstrous Surplus' has enough spine-tingling pop moments to keep you reaching for the repeat button again and again. An incredible selection of modern shoegaze music - don't miss it!"

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