No-one ever paid much attention to the three members of the Cranberries who weren't called Dolores O'Riordan. So it's not all that surprising that guitarist Noel Hogan's debut solo album has been recorded under the fairly anonymous-sounding name of Mono Band. Perhaps the Limerick man should blow his own trumpet a little more, as this is an intriguing piece of work that draws from a much broader palette of influences than his old outfit ever did. Built around droning samples and dub rhythms, most of the songs are downbeat and subtle, and none of them sounds remotely like the Cranberries. The only question mark is over Hogan's decision to use so many guest vocalists, most notably the relatively unknown Oxford singer-songwriter Richard Walters and the Swedish chanteuse Alexandre Hamnede. The different voices from track to track make this feel more like a compilation album than anything cohesive or unified. Still, a promising beginning.
