You Are There - Mono
You Are There Image
Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 6 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Steve Albini returns as engineer for this fifth album from the Japanese post-rock outfit.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    Another instrumental masterpiece. [Jun 2006, p.192]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Drowned In Sound
    90
    It sees Mono edge closer still to the classical spectrum, incorporating strings to great effect.
  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    80
    You are There is a fine example of post-rock that outshines both Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor's latest or last affairs.
  4. Under The Radar
    60
    Spends too much time building and not enough time delivering the knockout. [#13, p.99]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. MartinJ
    10
    Yeah, and I KNOW that this is the best album of mono.....I can't control my emotion...
  2. lees
    10
    Throughout their six-year career, MONO has ascended consistently in both popularity and critical acclaim, with record sales and live show attendance corresponding. But still elusive to the Japanese quartet has been the successful translation of their powerful and violently beautiful live performances to their recordings. Despite their albums' masterful subtleties and majestic walls of noise, the consensus has remained that their transcendent live show is simply incomparable. If there is any chance of breaking that spell, it lies in You Are There, without a doubt the prime contender to unite the live and recorded worlds of MONO. Once again captured to tape by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, IL, the album extends the cinematic drama of 2003's Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (also recorded by Albini), while surpassing the sinister heaviness of 2002's lauded One Step More and You Die. If Walking Cloud was a nuclear winter, then You Are There is the post-war rebirth; steeped in an ominous creation-via-destruction atmosphere not heard since Neurosis' landmark Enemy of the Sun defined the sound more than a decade ago. You Are There disproves the myth that an increased focus on intricate song structures and string arrangements comes at the expense of youthful energy and inspired aggression. With You Are There, MONO's representation of tragedy comes with an inherent joy, delivered with the hope that in all dark there is equal parts light. They're not heavy like Black Sabbath - they're heavy like Beethoven. Jeremy deVine /Temporary Residence Limited… Expand
  3. [Anonymous]
    6
    Not exactly fresh, they seem to be using the same exact formula throughout the album. While the production's nice and it all sounds pretty on first listen, it doesn't stand up on later spins and ultimately lacks substance. They've done better.… Expand

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