Monokini – To Reach the Sun – Review

Monokini

To Reach the Sun (Iceberg Music)
by Michael McCarthy

To Reach the Sun (Iceberg Music, Russia) is the debut album by Russia’s Monokini. The young singer is often called Mohn or Mono by her fans – not to be confused with the Portuguese pop sensation Monokini – and her disc is an interesting blend of pop, house, and melancholy. Released in 2001, but recently getting quite a bit of attention here in the States among import fanatics, much of the disc is in the vein of the current house scene in Greece and Norway. It’s easy to imagine “Carry Me Away,” the opening track, being spun in clubs all over Europe. There’s something slightly generic about its sound, but instead of seeming bland, it somehow gives it something of a universal appeal. The same can be said of “Dance at Dawn,” but some of these songs are more than merely Russian in language. (I had a friend translate these titles for Lollipop; the disc is entirely in Russian.) The guitars that highlight “Until Meeting on a Star” are very much the sound one expects from the Russian folk/rock scene, bringing to mind Akvarium. “Goodbye,” the haunting ballad that appropriately closes the disc, is easily my favorite, which makes me hope that her eagerly-anticipated follow up will be more in the pop vein than dance.
(www.realrec.ru)