Album Review: The Magnificent - "Monolithic"

 

An LA rock supergroup of sorts, the list of personnel involved with the Magnificent is pretty impressive with various off-duty members of the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, the Bellrays, the Brutalists, the Woggles and JJ and the Real Jerks featuring among the line-ups. Oh and they've got a couple of go-go dancers who have day jobs wrestling for Lucha Va Voom but obviously I can't really vouch for their effectiveness given that this is an album rather than a visual experience.

Put thoughts of their day job bands out of your head though as the brief of the Magnificent is soul power rock 'n' roll making the sound here less City of Angels and more Wigan Casino Northern Soul club. Monolithic is a mix of northern soul deep cuts (including Etta James and Janis Joplin covers) and originals and what propels it along is its sheer enthusiasm - the likes of I'm A Man and Why just have an infectious energy to them that'll leave you unable to stop your head nodding along and your foot tapping.

If Northern Soul was never your bag to begin with then it's safe to say that I don't think Monolithic is gonna be the album to change your mind - the Magnificent play things pretty straight here and don't really deviate much from the tried and tested formula but if you like this sort of music then I'd definitely recommend this one for tracking down - it's a fun half hour of old school music to dance like nobody's watching to. And sometimes, there's nowt that'll beat that.

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NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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