Album Review: Hypomanie - A City in Mono

Being such a mixed band (although their most widely recognized genre is primarily depressive-black metal), Netherlands-based project Hypomanie has released a solid album with A City In Mono. Though it might not have been recognized as a stay-true to the core genre, the band has been known to experiment with their sound, and it shouldn't surprise that there's a very post-rock feel to a majority of the songs, namely the title track.

As stated immediately before, "A City in Mono", the premiere track of the album, brings on a feel that much imitates well-known post-rock project Explosions in the Sky.


The introduction to the song brings on a static ambiance with a clear-cut guitar melody that brings us almost right to All Of The Sudden I Miss Everyone, yet, as we hit the similar sound, it turns right around into a major key, upbeat jam. The song melds its sound back and forth between the slowly-progressing cloud of sound and the strong, clear-cut rhythm, until it softly recedes into a beautiful conclusion.

On the other hand, however, the first track on the album, "You Never Gazed At The Clouds", is a dabbling of what the band's really all about: the song maintains a monotonous rhythm, pervading the air with a melancholy melody that grows and becomes increasingly more intense, until it finally hits a cathartic, bittersweet chord at the end.

From beginning to end, the album is a release full of surprises, and the air the album gives off is something I've been searching for musically for a long time - a gentle yet vibrant, harmonic yet dissonant contorting of tones that amounts up to a fantastic listen.

You can listen to some samples of songs, and find links to purchase the album, here.

Track Listing:
1. You Never Gazed At The Clouds
2. She Couldn't Find a Flower, But There Was Snow
3. Smile
4. A City in Mono
5. A City in Stereo