Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Vicky Mutch at Studio 2. September 2017.

Not everything in life is a stroll, often we take the great moments for granted and always use them as the bench mark of how we must approach a new setback or pitfall. If everything was a stroll then the way we see the way of solving the setback would be just like taking a step around a small puddle in the middle of the pavement, we would just bypass it with a blasé demeanour, it would nothing more to us than even breathing or staring at the world and wondering why it had become so dull and predictable.

The pitfall, the setback or the spanner in the works is there to make us grow, to explore, to delve further into our psyche and for one of the great bands of Liverpool, when a setback comes, when a member is dealing with something monumental, thee puddle is not just swerved, it is studied and then a iron bridge is built over it and a fanfare parade is thrown in its honour upon opening.

As one of the two supports to Elijah James and the Nightmares on a night at Studio 2 when the delight of an E.P. launch was in the offering, Ste Reid and Vicky Mutch of The Mono’s LPs took to the stage with fire in their bellies and the smouldering bow of the cello ready to cut through metal, that bridge over standing waters, that puddle, was not to be sidestepped, it was to be traversed in style.

Perhaps as twosome for the night it would be more apt and humorous and with genuine affection to shorten the name down to say The Mono EPs, there was nothing short of the blistering fire in evidence, there was no disservice from the fans who engaged and admired the sound and as the rivets of the bridge were put in place, one of the truths of supporting a band through thick and thin, of making sure that the artist and the art is recognised and applauded is to make sure that the puddle of indifference never strengthens to become a tidal wave of no hope.

For The Mono LPs, as with every band that gives their audience, no matter if they fill a stadium or a back room, it is important to recognise their worth; that we must never allow the scene to fade away.

In songs such as Die A Little Death, The Flame, 6 A.M., Cherry Red Lips and Emilia, the vivacious talent of Ste Reid and the Commander of the Bow, Vicky Mutch, didn’t just shine through, it was effervescent in its delivery, animated and cool in the way that they refused to fade away for the night.

Some people put a coat over a puddle, if you have the guts, build a bridge others can then follow you in your path as you stride forward.

Ian D. Hall