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Album Details

• Artist: Moneen
• Album: Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?
• Label: Vagrant / Smallman
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-05-30

And now for part II. Moneen have made the jump from little upstart label Smallman to the powerhouse of Vagrant Records, a just home for this talented foursome. With the Smallman label, Moneen managed to chart on the CMJ charts, a feat not many little labels can claim. This obviously made some of the bigger players stand up and take notice. Their self-proclaimed "aggressive melodic pop" is making a splash on emo fronts as well as punk fronts. They are an immediately accessible band that shows aggression where needed and restraint where that is needed. Are We Really Happy is a fantastic follow-up to their 2001 release The Theory Of Harmonial Value, which just hinted at what the band was capable of. Moneen was whisked off to California to record this album with Trevor Keith (Face To Face frontman) in the production chair. Track names are just too long to repeat here so I will just refer to them as their respective track number. The mellow piano on track 6 shows the mellower side of Moneen but don't think that this is a good example of what the band is primarily. Track 8 is a little more characteristic of what Monnen is all about. Already a figure in Canadian rock, Moneen is about to embark on a invasion of the U.S.A. in hopes of gaining a legion of fans down south of the Canadian border. If the prospective fans catch wind of Are We Really Happy, Moneen may find themselves easily back on the charts of CMJ.

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