rating: 2.5

Imagine Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, and Placebo mixed together. You'll get the ever-ambitious Monks Of Mellonwah, who take early noughties alternative rock and twist it with a slice of indie and a dust of pop. The group is growing in popularity and breaking out, and this latest EP, although short, showcases all of what's in store when you with the Monks. Ghost Stories may impress you and when it does, you can gear up for more, because this band is just getting started. But if you're unimpressed and prefer the less derivative, then stray far away and go listen to your Franz Ferdinand or Travis records. Four songs - one being an intro - stand on this release. These three full songs are pleasant but as derivative as you get. With familiar riffs, bridges, and choruses, you'll wonder if you're back in 2002. This may sound like a rude complaint, but, understand very few artists make their own unique works of their own time. Even the best sound like nostalgic sometimes. But what inevitably scars this EP is its ability to never break this mold of others - it lives where those other bands did. It's not particularly groundbreaking or revelatory to hear something that is made better by others.

However, these tracks sound like good album cuts from those bands mentioned above. "Ghost Stories" starts off with a delicate, mysterious guitar arpeggiation and unfurls into a semi-anthemic track. The track mirrors itself with identical verse-chorus structure and gets exciting towards the end with a frenetic, warping guitar fill that fits perfectly with a heavy rhythm section that really gives the song the extra kick it needs. "Vanity," the EP's best track, grabs a funkier, groovier feel, with a definite Anthony Kiedis impression in the pre-chorus bit. There's a slow, heavy riff that splits the first and second verses that is addictive, nearly - just hearing it makes me wanna pull out Absolution and headbang until my head falls off. But then the song returns to its semi-groovy, floaty section and I'm left feeling a little cheated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC4vhLxkV2s "Sailing Stones" does its fair share of rising and falling, especially with the vocal section. There's definitely a loud-quiet-loud syndrome on this one, really echoing the entire post-grunge-era. During this three minute track, there's a lot of moments where this song could really go somewhere, but it just stands in its area and plays it immensely safe. I was surprised to hear a string section in the back of the mix during the guitar solo, which was also lost in the mix. But this track ultimately rises and falls out of my memory.

Monks of Mellonwah are not bad but at the moment they are lost in their influences, marred by a simple problem they can easily remedy. Ghost Stories is a short EP that lets three pleasant songs tease you. Let's just hope the band steps out of this mindset and moves on - getting Ghost Stories out of their creative mind could be the best thing that could happen to the band. This EP dwells in the past and, ultimately, will probably be left in the past. But don't allow this evaluation to let you think this is terrible work. It's a slight misstep that I think will be overlooked when the band releases more content.