Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/17/2003
On its
Vagrant debut, the Toronto quartet
Moneen more fully indulges its mixture of
emo dynamics with ambitious
math rock songscapes.
Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? is as musically grandiose as its lengthy title, die-cut packaging, and involved song titles and lyrics would suggest. Songs like
"To Say Something That Means Nothing to Anyone at All" begin as a typical
emo rocker, only to dissolve into an extended period of instrumental noodling. But the passage essentially becomes an extended bridge setting up a final, furious chorus. This is the drawback to
Moneen's larger-than-life sound: Though the band succeeds at expanding
emo's borders, it usually returns to the genre's hallmarks before too long. Sweeping choruses; high-pitched, interlocking vocals; and crashing guitars abound on
Are We Really Happy, even if most songs take a few minutes to slow things down, drop in piano, and generally pad the proceedings with melodrama. The quartet's songs, voices, and playing are as tight as anything from veterans like
the Get Up Kids or fellow newcomers such as
hardcore/
emo fusionists
Silverstein. But in its zeal to reach great new heights in
emo,
Moneen ends up stalling out in simply good territory. The searching, often acerbic lyricisms; rousing melodies; and most of the album's extended instrumental experiments should appeal to fans eager for something more than the same old heartbreak-married-to-ringing-guitars formula. But for
Moneen itself,
Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now? might represent another few steps toward something truly exceptional.
~Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
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