Hailing from St Petersburg in Russia, Transnadeznost are one of those bands that all-too-easily slip through the cracks amidst the reams of disposable, identikit releases thanks to their understated artwork and minimal biographical information. However, with the internet having demystified bands to an unprecedented degree, it’s good to see an act maintaining an air of detachment, allowing the music to do the talking for them, and the music on Monomyth is certainly worthy of discussion. A heady brew of early-to-mid-period Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Miles Davis and 5ive (the Sleep-obsessed post rockers form America, not the nauseating boy band), Monomyth offers up seven tracks over the course of nearly an hour, which, thanks to a splendid mix courtesy of Aleksandr Dokshin, sound richly organic and detailed.
The album opens with the beguiling, mid-pace march of Pachamama, a wah-washed piece that occasionally bursts into a shuffle. As the deft percussive sweeps of David Aaronson drive the piece in unexpected directions, twin guitarists Aleksandr Yershov and Alesya Izlesa (also credited with glockenspiel) trade riffs and spacey leads to mesmerising effect. It’s an auspicious start to an album that maintains a herbally-enhanced atmosphere across its run time. Next, Transnadeznost head into Ladoga, a piece built around Nikolay’s sanguine bass, which recalls Pink Floyd jamming on Mogwai covers – think set the controls for the heart of the sun combined with ex-cowboy and you’re in the right ballpark – and it’s the perfect piece of music within which to lose oneself. Unveiling a more contemporary approach, Kailash takes the twitchy stoner-rock of QOTSA (specifically the underrated Lullabies to Paralyze) as a starting point and the band delver a surprisingly vibrant track that has a live-in-the-studio vibe, which gives the piece a visceral edge, offset by unexpected Eastern influences that enter the track at around the half-way point. The first half of the album takes an unexpected turn as Aleksey Gorshkov adds trumpet to the mix for the short, jazz-infused Star Child. It works incredibly well, the trumpets adding a richness to the band’s sound that allows for interesting future digressions, and greater emotional weight.
Opening the album’s second side, Huldra is the only track to feature lyrics (a contribution from Egor Svysokihgor, who also provides the vocals), the band approaching the track in the vein of Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth, all rolling toms and echoing guitar. Egor’s vocals, wreathed in reverb, fit perfectly and, despite the fact that you’d imagine the only vocal-oriented song would stand out, it actually fits very naturally into the sequence of the album, the sensitive mix allowing the vocals a degree of clarity without overpowering the instruments. Built around a potent bassline, the short, aggressive Chewbacca is a tougher piece that, with its hyperactive riffing at the close, provides a neat bridge to the epic finale, Day/Night. A harder edged piece, albeit one that juxtaposes the beauty found elsewhere with the hulking riffs of Chewbacca, Day/Night is an immensely satisfying album closer, more-or-less condensing the somnolent flow of the record as a whole into a fourteen-minute piece that ebbs and flows beautifully, especially when Aleksey’s haunting trumpet returns to the fold, edging the piece towards an unexpected and hypnotic ambience more reminiscent of The Orb than the Floyd. A truly evocative finale, Day/Night is a remarkable showcase of the band’s skills and you can’t help but wish more bands would follow a similarly individualistic path.
Incorporating jazz, post-rock, ambient and progressive, Monomyth is one of those records that takes the listener on a journey of the imagination. Thanks to Aleksandr’s excellent mix (and Boris Istomin’s equally sensitive mastering work), the music is richly textured and has an organic feel to it that sounds amazing. Operating in a genre that, despite its opportunities, all too often feels proscriptive, Transnadeznost have once again pushed the boundaries away and created a work of real merit. A hypnotic trip well worth taking, Monomyth is an impressive record indeed. 9
