Monk Dark Side of the Mind LP
L.A.’s MONK take the concept of “Positive Mental Attitude” and go wild with it on their debut LP, Dark Side of the Mind. Citing influences like 86 MENTALITY and BIB, MONK plays a non-stop stomp that features a slew of breakdowns and gang vocals that sound hard as hell. Lyrically, MONK lives up to their name, mostly touching on introspection and spiritual teachings. They even conclude the album with a twelve-minute, spa-like meditation, an unnecessary but interesting inclusion. Overall, on paper this could all be very corny, but thanks to the strength of the music and the conviction of the performances, MONK pulls it off. I think if you played this record backwards for a yoga class, you could really freak out some yogis.