Formed: 2003
Members
Vocal & Guitar: Hanon
Went from Hanon/No Wave to Monaural Curve to Juno
Guitar: Zull
(see Zull’s profile)
Bass: Tockn
Went from Monaural Curve to Juno
Profile: New wave rock band Monaural Curve were formed in 2003 in Tokyo by Hanon and Zull, who were later joined by support bassist Tock. Hanon had previously recorded under the name Hanon/No Wave and Zull had previously been in the band Nookicky.
They played their first live in August 2003 at Motoyawata Route 14 and performed six additional lives that year including one at Roppongi Y2K and one at Shinjuku Head Power. Their first maxi single, "See Through", which was available both through their website and at lives, was released in December, containing four tracks.
In 2004, despite Zull also having become the guitarist for The Candy Spooky Theater, Monaural Curve continued to play lives. Their venues they played included Nagoya Music Farm, Motoyawata Route 14 and Takadanobaba Area, which hosted Zull fes. The one-track live only CD, "Tanmei Child", was also released during this time.
The band slowed down in 2005, playing only 5 live shows at 4 venues - Ueno Suijou Ongakudou, Motoyawata Route 14, Otsuka Red Zone, Takadanobaba Area and again at Motoyawata Route 14 for the venue's 20th anniversary. Their second maxi single, "Boys Be Romantic, Girls Be Darkness", was released at their Motoyawata live in August.
Monaural Curve are currently on hiatus but Hanon and Tock have formed the band Juno and Zull has remained a member of The Candy Spooky Theater, as well as working on various other projects.
After Zull left The Candy Spooky Theater in 2007, Monaural Curve played a one-off live along with bands such as Sugar and emmuree.
Official site:
http://sound.jp/underpass/
Discography
2003/12/28 – See Through (maxi single)
2004/11 – 短命チャイルド (Tanmei Child) (live only release)
2005/8/14 – Boy’s Be Romantic, Girl’s Be Darkness (maxi single)
Review:
Monaural Curve's music is pretty simple rock/pop rock, but none of their songs sound the same and the music works well with Hanon's voice. His vocals have been described as erotic by MC fans, but personally I think that's only due to the soft, deep, breathy tone to it at times, much like Atsushi Sakurai from Buck-Tick, though Hanon sounds more like Full from Nookicky most of the time. Their songs, such as "Religion" and "Tanmei Child", sometimes have a dark feel to them, both musically and lyrically, and this contrasts well with songs like "Stars" and "Cinderella", which are more upbeat. Probably, if you don't like Hanon's voice, you won't like Monaural Curve, but I do, so I'd recommend them. The only disappointing thing is how little they released before going on hiatus.