WL//WH Track Of The Day TEN MAD MONGERS
Hailing from Hamburg, the Northern Germany Hanseatic city pretty rich in talented young bands lately, the enigmatic Gothic Rock group Ten Mad Mongers has instead tied its beginnings to the pioneering Post-punk era of the mid-80s with the classic ‘highly sought’ one-off collector item, the limited self-released album “Deathbeat” in 1986, which in truth, unlike the Danish renowned outfit Sort Sol with whom they shared the stage, I have never met in my record digging wanderings.
The band, in the last few years, is back to release sparse songs, one of the latest a cover version of “Fall Down” from the early ’80s London’s new wave outfit Cuddly Toys, formerly known as glam-tinged punk rockers Raped, whose not unmissable, yet however with good parts, I bought for a few quids in London markets.
The new single, “All The Answers,” is, lyric-wise, about recognizing that what one is taught growing up is not true, that it was passed down generationally without much questioning, so it is time to let it go and, with faith and humbleness, carry on.
The velvety yet husky magnetic vocal delivery, reminiscent of Richard Butler, paired with a stripped-down but emotionally immersive guitar sound, augments and provides the whole with an alluring glaze of yesteryear’s decadent romanticism, poignant and haunting at the same time.
The track is centered around a rippling, wistful unwinding of shimmery guitar textures, underpinned by somberly throbbing Hook-esque bass lines and steady stumbling beats, obsessively trembling with forlorn intensity over slightly strained, steadfast vocals, dropping angst and gloom to uplift with hope, amid a distant layer of raw emotions.
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