Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The East Village Arts Club has already been creating a buzz since the doors re-opened a few weeks back. However much loved Masque was, the heady intoxicating nights in there were a by-word for some good music, inside the building now feels more homely, the sound more complete, lush and sensuous and there certainly could be no greater exponents of that overpowering sensuousness than the three acts that found their way there on the start of what is a busy Bank Holiday for the city.

The Mono L.P.s need no introduction as far as Liverpool audiences are concerned, the music is a staple diet and wherever they go, the music they perform is appreciated with vigour and it mirrors the steamrolling effect they have over the crowd. The heavy muscle of well written lyrics, a sound that could carve its name into the toughest rock without the use of a chisel and mixed into this a commander of the cello in Vicky Mutch who tames the taught strings and bends them to her unquestionable will.  Always an absolute pleasure in any situation to catch the band, The Mono L.P.s performed a set that captured the great sound available to them and made sure that the group have been carefully etching, scrawling, carving into the hearts of the fans continues to be seen and heard.

Opening the evening with Watch the Games and the electrifying Look at Those Legs, the early crowd were not left disappointed in their decision to make sure they got a good spot before the headline act. With The Mono L.P.s though you get a group of musicians who really could hold their own in any company, no matter the venue, no matter how long they get given on stage.

With vocalist Ste Reid being on top form and the group playing like demons, songs such as Die A Little Death, Give Her Love, the fabulous I Don’t Love You and the honest and powerful Make Me Sick all reverberated around the venue like a steam train given free rein to really let loose and push the limit of its engine.

As opening acts go, The Mono L.P.s is amongst the finest in the city or even the country. As bands with the temperament to be just a little outstanding, so in tune with their ideal of cello driven rock, The Mono L.P.s are proving time and time again that they really are the masters and it’s about time the rest of the U.K. knew.

Ian D. Hall