Too slow for it's own good

• Artist: The New Monarchs
  
• Album: Blueprints
  
• Year: 2008
  
• Why I picked it up: The simplistic cover drew me in, but the saying on the inside captured me: "A door cannot escape the space in which it turns." It seemed like the kind of saying that doesn't really mean anything, but you like to hear it.

The New Monarchs are an ok electronic duo who provide a nice sound, with heavy dance beats, fun background music, and generally clean vocals. They're, overall, an ok band. That being said, there are quite a few drawbacks to this album. Often the speed of the vocals don't match the speed of the beats or background instrumentals, which is off putting. Their brand of music suffers from the general plague of electronica: repetition, each track cycles too much and after the first listen--when the song is new for the first time--it becomes too much of a bother. With the first listen it seems like a good or so record, but with subsequent listens the little annoyances stand out more and more, and the album becomes sullied. This is kind of the opposite of my 46bliss review a few weeks ago. Once you're slightly used to the songs, the repetition in them becomes too much to accept.

I guess this isn't the album you're supposed to listen to constantly, but rather sample it every once in a while--then it'll feel good and new again.

• Standout track: You'll Always Know
  
• MySpace: The New Monarchs
  
• How much I would've paid: $2
  
• Rating: 2/5