I don’t know what Shoun Shoun means, if anything at all. Searching just brought up the band and Shaun the Sheep. It just makes me think of The Sims, which explains why I wanted to play it instead of writing this…
We Woke The Monster is quite slow out of the gate; the song initially feels monotonous and lacking in energy, especially seeing the 5 minute run time. Those feelings don’t last, even though the only thing that really changes is the way you listen to it.
In a way, WWTM sounds like a soberised take on early Sonic Youth. The vocals are delivered in a loose, punky fashion and the bold yet choppy guitars are panned hard. In isolation they don’t sound too special, the magic is where you process them as one, similar to how Aspirin by Tropical Fuck Storm echoes its wonder. They are the kind of intentionally messy that is performed in the only way that they could actually work. Almost too well to notice what is going on at times.
The rhythm section can feel a little disjointed with such a tight performance, making me wonder if less of a clean production could have been a benefit, yet having a song sound so pop-rocky on the surface pack so much in, that’s the marvel in itself.
Ultimately WWTM is a highly accessible track with a great amount of depth, utilising enough styles to build a song that is fun and easy listening yet unique and complex enough to stand out. The 5 minute runtime in fact breezes by and will likely get you checking out Shoun Shoun’s back catalogue.
Jake Hancke – 26/04/2024
We Woke The Monster is available on Shoun Shoun’s BandCamp
You can follow on Shoun Shoun via their Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, YouTube and SoundCloud pages
The Cauteriser 
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