Monktrump - Sleepscape

Hear The Track Here

I have a feeling that Mike Atkins (the artist known as Monktrump) is sitting back thinking that overall 2006 was a really good year for him - especially with this reviewer who has been one of his harsher critics. There again, I have to say what I think and I know that Mike understands that. It all turned around last year though; he gained a bunch of very favourable reviews from me and a placing as an up and coming Soundclick artist in my year end review of 2006. Not bad going at all, and a lot of that really has to be put down to Monktrump's willingness to act on advice given. He hasn't changed musically - at least as far as I can tell - but the way he is presenting it is of a much higher quality (arrangement and production) than his earlier works.

Musically what he offers is fairly standard American pop rock in the same vein as other Soundclick artists such as Starting Over, Cameron Pierce et al so you are either going to like it or not. I do like the genre, just giving you a flash of my prejudice ya understand... Mike said when putting in for this review that Sleepscape is 'just an experimental Instrumental track' and I find no arument there whatsoever. As it happens, it's actually a fairly listenable track considering it is just an instrumental and some of the sounds Mike coaxes from whatever the lead lines are played with really work well and were - for me anyway - the highlight of the track. If highlight can be applied to a straightforward guitar track that is.

Admittedly it has a few fumbles (on some of the leads) and the whole thing could do with a major tightening up of the arrangement but - when all is said and done - it is actually a work in progress. Ah, but should it progess? Does it have anything worth exploring further? Actually yes, as I said above, its actually quite a listenable track. Whether it has any real 'legs' is, of course, down to what Monktrump does with it from here on out but I do see it as an avenue well worth pursuing. Obviously then if you are a listener wanting to listen to someone elses musical noodlings then this may very well interest you. If the very thought gives you a bad case of the heaves, then I suggest that you leave well alone and pass by this one...