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Monobasic

Teeth & Tongue
Monobasic

9 Track, LP (2008, Crystal Chain Records/Inertia)
Related: Teeth & Tongue.


Just for a moment, let’s not talk about the voice.

This, the first album from former Moscow Schoolboy singer Jess Cornelius under the Teeth & Tongue moniker, is one of most damn listenable records released this year. And the reason is this: she writes songs that are always shifting emphasis, never extending you the opportunity to second guess where she’s heading.

Opener ‘There is a Lightness to My Bones’ is the perfect example. It starts with a simple late-night slink delivered in a half whisper, moves into a declaratory chorus and then begins a subtle movement into, well, a bit of funk. Almost. And this is all before two-and-a-half minutes have elapsed.

It's a compelling musical pattern that recurs throughout the record. And its assisted no end by the fact that Cornelius is a voluble, enthusiastic narrator of proceedings. She indulges theatrics in moments of seeming despair, and her operatic flourishes bring fresh colour to the simple guitar and voice lament of a song like ‘Dirty Rag’.

Ironically though, it’s her much-laded voice that’s the main limitation on Monobasic. In sharp contrast to her lyrics and her arrangements, at times Cornelius sounds too much in thrall to some notable vocal forebears, particularly on ‘This Is Now’, which recalls PJ Harvey, that “West Country girl with a big fat cat”. 'Sea Ice' immediately redresses the error, subsuming Kate Bush flourishes under churning swathes of guitar. The order of these two tracks illustrates the point perfectly. When her urgent, demonstrative vocal is just another instrument in the song, the real inventiveness of this record truly shines.

Throughout Monobasic, Cornelius is ably supported by a cast of Melbourne music notables (Joe Talia, Ian Wadley) but you never doubt they're merely supporting players.

The vision is Cornelius' alone.

by JP Hammond

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Tracklisting
  • 1.   There Is A Lightness To My Bones
  • 2.   Come From Nowhere
  • 3.   This Is Now
  • 4.   Sea Ice
  • 5.   Stacey Come Over
  • 6.   Dirty Rag
  • 7.   Hello Riccardo
  • 8.   But Still He Stood His Ground
  • 9.   Greenland Song
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