Aside from the obvious, one of the benefits of being in an outfit that sells 38 million albums, I should imagine, would be the chance to work with a reassuringly pricey roll-call of producers. For his first solo project, ex-Cranberries guitarist and writer Noel Hogan has recruited an impressive line-up of sonic doctors, among them Marius De Vries, Stephen Street and Matt Vaughan.
Herein lies the rub; armed to the teeth with the world’s foremost knob-jockeys, Mono Band is styled to within an inch of its life, yet it’s not an agressively stylish work. Then again, nobody can ever accuse Hogan of not having an ear for an anthem; rather than being modern, despite the chattering of various studio toys, Mono Band boasts a nicely-honed feel for the timeless.
Effectively, the album is a nifty platform for various collaborators, among them Richard Walters and Woodstar frontman Fin Chambers. As the album moves from style to style with little forewarning, there’s no denying Hogan’s unique, fluid pop sensibility; call it, if you will, adult-oriented pop with a ticklish melange of quirks. ‘Why?’ is a hazy slice of wondrous chill-out bliss, evoking the likes of Zero 7, while ‘Waves’ packs a hefty punch as a swoonsome, heart-on-sleeve moment. ‘Miss P’ also stands out as a gorgeously spring-fresh, space-age ballad.
At once unassuming and affecting, Mono Band is essentially an exercise in understatement. Hogan pushes buttons and boundaries, at once becoming experimental and playful – more so than anyone with an illustrious career under their belts has an inclination to be. For that alone, I applaud him.

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