Science Man Monarch Joy LP
Another home run for John Toohill and co. on SCIENCE MAN’s latest LP, Monarch Joy, a collection of nine well-crafted and slightly offbeat hardcore tracks. Never so far-out musically as to lose a casual listener but just quirked-up enough lyrically to stand out from the multitude of hardcore bands currently on the circuit, the album is incredibly dense and moves at a breakneck pace. While best ingested in one sitting (preferably alongside its video companion piece put together by Toohill and visual collaborator Lindsay Tripp), if I had to recommend specific tracks, I’d go with the one-two punch of “Puzzle Hoax” and “Lesser Species” on the backside of the record. Don’t sleep on this one.