Monotonix

Where Were You When It Happened? (Drag City)

In pro wrestling, a Monotonix live show would be deemed a hardcore, falls-count-anywhere match. The Israeli trio gropes its way through the crowd, onto the streets, and everywhere else it deems fit, while singer Ami Shalev’s Tasmanian devil, trash-can heroics make Angus Young’s strip tease routine look like child’s play. Those antics won’t ever fully translate in the studio, but this aptly titled full-length debut still kicks out a few jams like MC5 at the Grande Ballroom. This is primitive scuzz-rock, all thick guitars and pummeling drums, meeting halfway between the Electric Eels and Mudhoney (“Flesh and Blood”), especially in Shalev’s nasal sneer. “Something Has Dried” erupts behind Yonatan Gat’s guitar freak-out, and “Spit It on Your Face” crashes a heavy metal parking lot for all of two minutes. Material and energy lag toward the end (“As Noise,” “Hunt You Down”), but for Monotonix, this isn’t where it happens. (Monotonix destroys Emo’s Friday, Sept. 25.)

**

This article appears in September 25 • 2009.

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