John Monopoly

Head Shaking Timer in the Heart of the Strategy (Gotham)
by Joe Hacking

“Up and Around,” continuing the tradition of keeping it heavy and funky. “Dead Wrong” is reminiscent of late Living Colour and exhibits a slickness this band has undoubtedly picked up on the road. The cover of Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science” fails to capture the force of their live rendering, yet exhibits their power of interpretation. “Feck” shows the two sides of John Monopoly, the velvet walk and the concrete stomp, while “Moth” gives us to-the-boards metal-crunch-overdrive. “Tax Rap” borders on the realm of Primus, thanks to guitarist Thom Hiller’s Larry LaLonde-like drone. Through it all, Johnathan Comey’s distinctive vocals teeter between mellow croon and angered outrage. The heart of Monopoly, Rick Hiller on bass and Steve Thomas on drums, never ceases to amaze, pulling the band’s sound into the realm of “did you HEAR that?!” Find this disc and play it a lot!