Kevin Wood & From The North – Monument

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Monument is a collection of songs recorded by former Malfunkshun guitarist Kevin Wood, using lyrics written by his late brother and Mother Love Bone front-man and principle songwriter Andrew Wood. All of the songs here may be built around Andrew Wood’s lyrics written, but the music Kevin and company have written to go with them, and the performance, aren’t even close to being on the same level Andrew produced before his death. Mother Love Bone fans hoping for an homage to Wood, using his own lyrics, will be disappointed with Monument. It may suit old Malfunkshun fans better, and Kevin Wood’s extended guitar solos, even though they rarely fit the rest of the music, will at least be enjoyed by guitar fanatics. The songs are, for the most part, mundane. The riffs aren’t hard-hitting enough and Shawn Smith’s vocals are sorely lacking. It’s a great shame that some of these songs aren’t more dynamic, because riffs like the ones on Love Child, deserve to be the centrepiece of better music. A cover of Mother Love Bone’s Man of Golden Words remains fairly faithful, but highlights are hard to come by. The basis for a good album was here, but there’s a spark or two missing and much of this therefore falls pretty flat. Pinning it down to one element is difficult, but the lack of a good vocalist, unpolished production, out-of-place (if often very good) solos and an overall mood of boredom could all be candidates for the blame. There are better songs here than the result.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Alternative, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Kevin Wood & From The North