Monoculture (album)

Last updated
Monoculture
Monoculture album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Sainthood Reps
ReleasedAugust 9, 2011 (2011-08-09)
RecordedFebruary–April 2011
Genre Indie rock, post-hardcore
Length43:22
Label Tooth & Nail
Producer Mike Sapone
Singles from Monoculture
  1. "Monoculture"
  2. "DINGUS"
  3. "Hunter"

Monoculture is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Sainthood Reps. It was produced by Mike Sapone and released on August 9, 2011, by Tooth & Nail Records.

Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

Sainthood Reps

Sainthood Reps is an American indie rock band from Long Island, New York, formed in 2009. Their debut album, Monoculture, was released on Tooth & Nail Records in the summer of 2011 and was produced by Mike Sapone. The band released their second album, Headswell, in October 2013 through No Sleep Records.

Mike Sapone is an American record producer, composer, audio engineer, and mixer whose credits include producing records for bands such as Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Mayday Parade, Sorority Noise, Boston Manor, An Horse, Oso Oso, O'Brother, Cymbals Eat Guitars and Public Enemy.

Contents

Background

In 2010, following the release of a split EP with O'Brother, Sainthood Reps received an e-mail from Tooth & Nail Records expressing interest in signing them, convincing them to put on hold plans for a double EP (four songs from which ended up on the album). After receiving more songs from the band, however, the label expressed concern about signing what was then a mostly instrumental band with few vocals. An agreement was made to include both instrumental and vocal songs on the album, but during the seven months ultimately taken to finalize the contract, the band rented out a practice space to rehearse and write songs in preparation for the eventual recording process. [1] It was during this process, according to guitarist Derrick Sherman, that the group "found [its] sound", ultimately abandoning the instrumental songs so as to have "a more cohesive record". [2]

A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "various artists" compilation albums in that they generally include several tracks of each artist, or few artists with one or two tracks each, instead of multiple artists with only one or two tracks each.

OBrother

O'Brother is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. After releasing their debut EP, In Comparison to Me, in 2006, Aaron Wamack and Tanner Merritt joined the band in 2008. A second EP, The Death of Day was released on May 5, 2009 by Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, to positive reviews. The band also released a vinyl split of their song, Lay Down, in collaboration with Sainthood Reps, under the vinyl label, The Ambitious Guest. After the release of The Death of Day, the band toured with Manchester Orchestra and The Features in February – March 2010. O'Brother joined Thrice's Major/Minor tour in September – November 2011, alongside Moving Mountains and La Dispute. Their first LP, Garden Window, was released on November 15, 2011, and was well-received critically. The record was released by Triple Crown and was co-produced by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell from Manchester Orchestra. The band recorded a session at Daytrotter in Nov 2011. In February 2012, O'Brother went on a co-headlining tour with Junius. Aaron Wamack left the band prior to the tour's start.

Tooth & Nail Records Record label based out of Seattle, Washington that focuses on rock

Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It has been home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoath, Hawk Nelson, Emery, The Almost, FM Static, Family Force 5, and MxPx.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk 84% [3]
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Alter The Press!Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Under the Gun ReviewStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

The album received largely positive reviews. Jason Heller of The A.V. Club included it in his monthly "Loud" column.

<i>The A.V. Club</i> Online newspaper and entertainment website

The A.V. Club is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop culture media. The A.V. Club was created in 1993 as a supplement to The Onion. In the early years after that was established on the Internet in 1996, the supplement had minimal presence on the website.

Track listing

  1. "Monoculture" - 3:16
  2. "Dingus" - 3:00
  3. "Telemarketeer" - 4:10
  4. "Animal Glue" - 3:18
  5. "Hunter" - 4:00
  6. "No/Survival" - 2:14
  7. "Hotfoot" - 4:35
  8. "Holiday Makers" - 4:52
  9. "reactor, reactor, reactor, REACTOR!" - 4:36
  10. "Widow" - 6:26

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References

  1. ↑ "PropertyOfZack Interview : : Sainthood Reps". PropertyOfZack. June 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. ↑ Ableson, Jon (2011). "Interview: Sainthood Reps". Alter the Press!. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Adam Pfleider (2011-07-19). "Sainthood Reps - Monoculture". AbsolutePunk . Buzz Media . Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Leahey, Andrew. Monoculture at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  5. ↑ George Gadd. "Album Review: Sainthood Reps - Monoculture". Alter The Press!. Buzz Media . Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Mike Hogan (2011-08-16). "REVIEW: Sainthood Reps – Monoculture". Under the Gun Review. Buzz Media . Retrieved 21 May 2012.
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