MONGOL HORDE IS MORE THAN A BAND. MONGOL HORDE IS A MOVEMENT.MONGOL HORDE IS AN INVASION.Who are Mongol Horde? Well, they're website boasts that they are "more than a band" but obviously they're
just joking, right? Well they kind of are. They know they're just a band but with this debut album springing from what feels like nowhere and their high slot on the Lock Up Stage at Reading and Leeds Festival this year, it feels like they actually are an invasion. In clearer terms, Mongol Horde are a London-based hardcore punk band, fronted by that lovely guy who played guitar and sung that nice song at the 2012 London Olympics. That's right, Frank Turner is fronting a hardcore punk trio. To some this may be a surprise but Frank has always spoken of his punk roots and although it's wrapped up in a folk bow, his solo music is just as punk as what Mongol Horde are presenting.So to get to it, Mongol Horde's self-titled debut album is a 13 track wave of noise. It feels like a cacophony of poems that has been building up in a man and they have just exploded onto a record. It doesn't feel rehearsed or nurtured. It feels raw and it feels punk. It is more a statement than a record; it is a rebellion. I mean I'm pretty sure Frank uses the word "c**t" a few times, which is odd at first seeing as he's usually all light and fluffy singing about 'Plain Sailing Weather' and 'Photosynthesis.' Once you get past the fact that this is Frank Turner at a more lyrically aggressive level you become more comfortable to thrash about to what this album is giving. The musicianship is stunning. The shear noise that comes from drummer Ben Dawson and guitarist Matt Nasir is incredible considering there is just two of them. Although it does feel at points that you're just hearing noise, it is clear that beneath this the trio are creating beautiful music.
Before I listened to the album, I looked at the tracklist. 'Stillborn Unicorn,' 'Winky Face: The Mark of the Moron' and 'How The Communists Ruined Christmas' are just a few titles which made me worry about the sanity of this album. The lyrics to some songs aren't much less worrying too and even what some songs are about could be enough to turn some listeners away: "The first song we wrote is about Natalie Portman's tapeworm using her as a glove puppet leading to an uprising in Hollywood" Frank explains about song 'Tapeworm Uprising.' This shouldn't put you off though, because despite it's weirdness, and perhaps sarcasm, the album has a lot more to it which makes it wonderful. As I've already said it has some insane musicianship, it has some strong messages and most of all it has the ability to make you want to move. Dance, mosh, jive, space-hopper, I don't care. You cannot stand still whilst this album is playing. Knowing how much energy and crowd surfing Frank Turner likes to participate in, I think fans at Reading and Leeds and on their tour will be in for a real treat. This is a record that establishes a band with a real shot at being just as big as their lead singer is alone, and that is rare to find these days.
How The Communists Ruined Christmas
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