Mono Lit is the debut album by new "Young" Irish band Pillarstone who are based in Waterford and led by Paul J Bolger and Alex Soikans with Adam Power and John Daly and special guests Killian Browne, Fergal Kavanagh, Aileen Mythen, Siobhan Maher Kennedy, Ronan O Snodaich, Fritz Hazy, Yuri Soikans, Martin Quinn and The Harmania Indie Choir. The album was recorded and engineered by Martin Quinn at Jam Studios Kells Meath Ireland.
The album opens with Run Fox Run a perfect serenade for Bruce our front garden fox, who may not have green fields to run across, most of us these days are living with Foxes, whose nightly wailing is far less harmonious than the bucking guitar parts, they seek to elude the idiotic Fox Hunters roaming the land. The widescreen epic feel to this battle, comes to a climax in the storming guitar and percussive chase across the speakers.
The early single September Sun is celebrating with hazy violins and heartfelt vocals, evoking the end of summer, the coming of autumn days once more, they encourage a good friend to stay in school and make something of themselves, feelings being expressed reminiscent of a Paul Brady style inquisition.
What In This World will you do with the one life you have in this world, how will you make a difference for the better, plangent guitars and supple bass help to get the message across, while making me want to hear what the guitars will do next, from going a bit Hendrix and Paul switching microphones to what sounds like an old valve microphone to get his point across, coming across like he is in the middle of Homemade Sin and Homemade Blood.
Fog Of War is asking for sanity and a stop to all the lying, leading us into more pointless stupid wars, wherever they may occur, why do we never learn the lessons of past mistakes and try to re-run the 100 years' war once more, all the previous slaughter was never enough, let us all rage against the stupidity and lies, bringing peace to the world, one wailing guitar solo at a time, while the widows sorrowful wail never ends.
Wise Up is a slow country blues making plain that we all need to educate and arm ourselves, with the knowledge to dream and hope for a better world, where we all care for each other with love and care.
Cry is a song for just before the heartbreak happens, when you might still make it together as a happy couple, he's still searching for her over that shuffling beat and scratchy guitar stabs, he wants to remember all the happiness she brings, before it all goes wrong once again, while sounding like an Irish Creedence Clearwater revival.
Like A Fool he was stumbling about having had a bit too much of the things he shouldn't overindulge with, the redolent violin accompanies his drunken rage and tear sodden apologies trying to make things right once more.
Hammer That Nail is a cautionary tale, no one ever needs to have that nail hammered into them, while they are on the cross, for all the crimes you blame them for, but forgiveness will be a better path to take, this rises and falls, allowing us all to have true free speech, peace and prosperity, it can only come when we all turn to love, instead of hate, so don't Hammer That Nail and get along with each other, enjoying how windblown and epic this becomes.
All I Want is a sweet almost soppy love song for the only person they really want, mid song it changes up, the more driving beat feels like he is making his way towards you from across town, he is ready to declare his love, accompanied by that lone harmonica player that always turns up on street corners, when you need him too.
The album closes with a glorious Call For Mercy a cry we sadly need more and more, trying to get the world to work in more peaceful ways, even if you have just been dumped again, or are suffering from the current crisis, we all need a Call For Mercy in the mid 2020's, our minds calmed by the twin guitars flowing around us.
Find Out More at https://pillarstonemusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/PillarstoneMusic
