Ever felt that you’ve been left out of something? That’s pretty much how I felt after struggling through “Three (A Collection of Monsters)” by Chapter. A bit of research indicated that there were two albums preceding this one (imaginatively called One and Two if you’re interested) and maybe hearing them would have added some perspective to where this album was supposed to be going. Then again, that might just be generosity on my part.
Stuck as I was with just these 12 songs, it is hard to figure out the whys and wherefores. “The Young Ones” goes round in circles pleasantly enough but after hearing it I was left with nothing more than the impression of mediocrity. Unimaginative looping dragged the minimalist songs down on more on one occasion with only some odd changes in style keeping my ears from switching off entirely (“My Sweet Girl” and “Candle of Black Hope”, for example).
Despite hailing from various parts of Europe, Chapter sound more like an angst ridden American indie pop band suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. One, two, three let’s go somewhere else!