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Freudstein
Mondo Freudo

Posted: Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By: Terry Cooke

Brighton-based duo Andrew Bridge and David Else, best known for their wide array of styles and unique sound, take us on a dark and haunting melodic journey with Mondo Freudo. The album starts with "Live This Lie," which does its job gracefully as the opener with its haunting melodies, dark atmosphere, and warped thought-provoking vocal lines. It unfortunately goes downhill from there with track two, titled "Punkid," that has a kind of Pitchshifter feel to it with its grungy guitar and drum and bass breaks, but doesn't pack the punch that is needed to feel at all connected with the rest of the album. All is not lost as we dive further into the sinister world of Mondo Freudo. "Filthy Little Whore" embarks on a sick and twisted excursion through the eyes of an eight-year-old girl. Highlights include track five, titled "Shadows," which features Swarf lead vocalist Liz Green, who does an outstanding job with her characteristic vocals. No two tracks on the album sound in any way similar and Freudstein don't think twice about adding an ounce of humor in the mix as track six, titled "A Message From Our Sponsors," displays. Mondo Freudo is fresh, diverse, and created in a highly artistic manner. There's something about this album that just draws you in. Overall, this is a very nice job, but unfortunately it was let down by some cheap sounding synths as well as generic drum lines and occasionally repetitive arpeggios, but the real key behind Mondo Freudo is the great composition throughout the album. This makes Mondo Freudo an interesting and compelling experience for fans of all genres.