Let's face it, most hardcore bands don't have it in them to do a "full length" and if they do, it's usually a couple of really good songs with some filler to get it up to the half hour mark. Thankfully, Blue Monday do not fall into this category with their newly released Rewritten.
The first thing fans of the band notice is that the band is definitely a lot harder than their previous release on Perfect Victim Records. While there's still some melody on some tracks, the band has gone with more of a (for lack of a better description) Terror-esque sound for the music. Most notable is track 3, "Lost and Found", which starts almost like their Canadian hardcore brothers No Warning before kicking up the speed and getting ready for the eventual sing-along and breakdown parts.
Breakdowns are a big part of this record. Rather than relying on the standard boring open E (or D in some cases), Blue Monday's breakdowns are interesting to listen to and also will get you moving whether in your living room or at a live show.
The production of the album was done by Dean Baltulonis of Atomic Studios fame, and the style is unmistakable, with heavy breakdowns and group back-ups that sound like 50 people are in the room screaming out parts of songs that will soon be screamed by hundreds of kids in a VFW hall.
The layout is nice and readable, which some labels still haven't understood that little fun fact. However, overall the layout is boring, with the same light metallic blue done before (and better) by Champion. While I'm not expecting a digi-pack or something out of the ordinary, getting together with the band and doing something a little more fitting the title of the record would've been nice to see.
Blue Monday shows that they aren't another hardcore band that will toss out an EP and vanish into the crowd like a lot of other bands or worse, put out a lackluster full length after a good EP that doesn't show growth or experience. However, Rewritten shows maturity and with this record, adds them to the ranks of Bridge 9's best and brightest.
