There is a date-stamp on the top right corner of the VHS/camcorder-looking video for the new single from South African four-piece MØNSTRØID, and I can’t help but wonder to what it might be alluding. Their first album, Set 1, was self-released in 2017, so obviously that wouldn’t have much to do with 1994, and though that indeed is the year Kyuss released Sky Valley, that record came out in June 25 years ago, not December. Fu Manchu‘s first record was earlier in ’94 as well. So what’s Dec. 8? Maybe someone’s birthday?

I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation for the choice — or at least an explanation, rational or not — but I don’t know what it is. Fun to speculate though, and the hooky, driving desert-style heavy rock of “Lost in the Haze” makes for easy company while pondering. The song is the opening track of Set 1 and speaks to MØNSTRØID‘s general songwriting modus operandi, their focus on straightforward, ’90s-style desert idolatry, guided by riffs toward the inevitable chorus impression of cuts like “Shake Down” and “Navigator,” the latter of which turns its defining Kyuss influence into more of a Roadsaw vibe, though “Life Lost” adds more atmosphere and chug in kind and “My Mind” slows things down — my mind would — ahead of the tempo revival in “Cruiser” and the instrumental closer “’80s TV Show,” which is one of two sans-vocal inclusions along with the earlier “Rocket.”

The band readily acknowledge their influences as you can see in the quote below, and indeed, as the clip for “Lost in the Haze” finds them out in the desert, magically rocking without amps as one might have in a mid-’90s era video, they would seem to pay homage on multiple levels. Kind of curious that the clip would come out some two years after the album it’s promoting, but hell, I missed the record the first time it came out, so I’ll take it however it comes, and they’ve got a new one in the works, so all the better.

Do you think they’ll call it Set 2?

Enjoy:

MØNSTRØID, “Lost in the Haze” official video premiere

Cape Town based stoner/desert rock band MØNSTRØID have released the video for their track Lost In the Haze, taken from their 2017 debut album Set 1.

Shot in both South Africa and the Namibian desert the band comments on the video, “We love where we live, and we wanted to position the Western regions of Southern Africa as the African counterpart to California’s desert rock scene, from where we draw so much inspiration. The video puts the band driving through it. From the dried-up desert pans, to the water flowing out of rocks sustaining life when all around it is dry, to the semi desert where the water flows freely. All the vast desert beauty we should celebrate.”

MØNSTRØID is the love child of 4 dudes from Cape Town, born out of a deeply shared appreciation for writing, making and sharing tectonic plate-shifting music. From the rumbling depths emerges a melodic molten soundscape. From the skies a flaming fireball of fuzz. MØNSTRØID resides where these forces collide. For lovers of growling guitars, distorted groove laden bass, melodic vocals and exploding drums of thunder.

The band are in studio at the moment working on their new album which is set to release early 2020.

MØNSTRØID, Set 1 (2017)

MØNSTRØID on Thee Facebooks

MØNSTRØID on Instagram

MØNSTRØID on Bandcamp

MØNSTRØID website

A couple things to get straight before we dig in here: The band is Durge. The EP is Dirge. And no, “Round and Round” is not a Ratt cover. Okay? Everybody on board?

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, the not-quite-shoegaze four-piece made their debut in August with the five-song Dirge, proffering heavied up ’90s alt vibes with a pervasive current of downerism. Think the grunge that made you sad, with an edge of psychedelia tossed in. “Round and Round,” for which the band has a new lyric video posted basically as a way of saying, “hey, we exist,” captures the melodic and depressive aspects of their approach well, with the vocals of guitarist Mark Ellis backed harmonically by bassist Francois Taljaardt and a sense of reach and scope between Ellis‘ and Heinrich Wesson‘s guitars given over to a massive crunch propelled by the drums of James Lombard. It’s heavy stuff, and unlike many songs written about monotony, it isn’t monotonous.

Elsewhere on the EP — which is streaming in full at the bottom of this post courtesy of Durge‘s Soundcloud page — they smash together laid back angularity and forward thrust with “On Call for Death” and adventure into minor-key leads and vocal interplay on “The Man Who Has Never Seen Snow.” Their two longest cuts round out in “Faithless” (6:24) and “Restless Nights” (8:14), making for a potent side B that drives a desert-hued patience in “Faithless” toward a momentary swell of melancholic progressivism. Drums lead the way into “Restless Nights,” but there’s plenty of time to explore reaches that on more straight-ahead cuts like “Round and Round” and “On Call for Death” sought not to tread. And they do, demonstrating a willingness to develop the track at its own pace, letting parts breathe before moving into their next stage and ultimately leaving an impression balanced between emotionalist intensity and sonic engagement.

Dig into “Round and Round” — again, an original — on the player immediately following, and the EP beneath some more background from the PR wire, which follows. You know how it goes.

Enjoy:

Durge, “Round and Round” lyric video premiere

DURGE was formed in Cape Town, South Africa in 2016 by Mark Ellis, Francois Taljaardt, James Lombard, and Heinrich Wesson. Over the past two years the band has been forging their unique sound that they call “Melandelic Rock”, a fusion of melancholy and psychedelic sounds. They’ve recently released their debut EP titled Dirge.

Vocalist/guitarist Mark Ellis comments on the EP, “Being very much a DIY project and the band’s first official release (with the help of some close friends), this EP is something close to the hearts of all four members. It also marks the start of an exploration into our sound which still has many dimensions to uncover. Dealing mostly with individualism and social issues, Dirge is a short statement to life.”

Durge is:
Mark Ellis – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Francois Taljaardt – Backing Vocals, Bass
James Lombard – Drums
Heinrich Wesson – Guitar

Durge on Instagram

Durge on Thee Facebooks

Durge on Soundcloud