A collection of EPs 2000 - 2007. Formed in 1999 by four Tokyo natives as an antithesis to the omnipresent Japanese pop scene. At first, MONO wore their influences on their sleeves, colliding the ugly washes of noise pioneered by My Bloody Valentine with the beautiful, subtle guitar figures of Slint and Mogwai. Not groundbreaking, but certainly magical. Eventually, MONO developed into a whole different species: Their classical influences broke through, pushing the music to structural and emotional extremes that owed as much to Wagner and Beethoven as it did Black Sabbath and Neurosis. Collecting all of MONO's rare and out-of-print non-album tracks, Gone perfectly (and chronologically) displays their astounding growth, from the modest opening notes of ... read more