Symphonies In Bloom

Japanese post-rockers MONO have tapped into themes of grief and mourning on their 13th studio album, Snowdrop. Inspired by the floral tributes left on graves, the band have coined a musical language to communicate the emotions of grief that words can't always convey. Guitarist Takaakira ‘Taka’ Goto and producer Brad Wood reflect on their late collaborator Steve Albini and moving forward with new ideas.

- Rob Hughes

When Steve Albini had a fatal heart attack in May 2024, aged just 61, his loss was felt deeply within the music community. Former bandmates in Big Black and Shellac paid tribute to his forcefulness as a singer and noise-rock guitarist; others recalled his importance as a studio engineer, helping shape key albums by the likes of Nirvana, Pixies, Motorpsycho, Sunn O))) and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Among those most affected were Japanese instrumentalists MONO, whose working relationship with Albini spanned two decades.

“Steve had been my hero since I was a high school student,” explains the band’s guitarist and founder Takaakira ‘Taka’ Goto. “We were just hanging out with him seven days before he died. It was insane, I couldn’t believe it. For 20 years we’d recorded at Electrical Audio [Albini’s Chicago studio] with him.”

Goto and his bandmates — Tamaki (bass, piano), Yoda (guitar) and Dahm (drums) — have now channelled their sense of loss into Snowdrop, the latest addition to their formidable studio catalogue. It finds the Tokyo-based quartet processing a vast sweep of emotions, from grief and sorrow to hope and benediction, across eight tracks that fuse post-rock might with symphonic splendour.

“Snowdrop is not only for Steve, but for other people, too,” says Goto. “My father died in 2023 and then, a year later, we lost my father-in-law. At his funeral, I saw people bringing flowers and grew curious about what it all meant. So I started thinking about a kind of flower language, which became the inspiration for Snowdrop. Spoken words can never explain things perfectly, but music can speak any language. I want this album to be a source of light for those who’ve lost someone dear.”

The seven-minute title track was the first to arrive. Like most of the album’s songs,