Monumental
Monumental is the third and highest selling Space March album. I worked with legendary producer/engineer Mark Saunders (Erasure, Depeche Mode, The Cure, A-ha) who gave the album a polished and classic 80s synthpop sound.
I also created large pop-art style artworks on canvas to accompany each song on the album, which were exhibited at a gallery in Sydney and included as postcards for the Special Edition CD.
The best selling tracks across all digital services are: Eye For An Eye, American Girl and Space Cowboy.
Video
SPACE COWBOY
The Space Cowboy video was shot in Mungo National Park in outback Australia. The lunar landscape was filmed at a place referred to as The Great Wall of China and is famous for its “lunettes” which come to life at sunset. The shoot was strategically timed with the full moon which provides a second light source.
CREDITS
Direction, Visual Effects and Editing by Craig Simmons; Cinematography by Alex Harris.
GET WHAT YOU DESERVE
The video for Get What You Deserve was shot on a DC-3 plane wreck in Sólheimasandur, south Iceland near the town of Vik. The plane, belonging to the United States Navy, ran out of fuel and crashed landed here in 1973.
CREDITS
Direction, Visual Effects and Editing by Craig Simmons; Cinematography by Alex Harris.
Reviews
The ultimate in Electronica
I collect hundreds of albums in the electronica genre, and I’d have to say that this album is my absolute favorite of them all. I don’t have a CD changer in my car, so when I have to narrow it down to just 1 album to keep looping around when I’m stuck in traffic, this is THE one. Space March has made an art and science of putting all the enjoyable elements of popular music into every single track. They’re generally very dance-worthy if you’re a DJ running a club, and if your just ‘kickin’ it’ with friends on a road trip this keeps the mood light and lively. Anyone familiar may have reservations that a synth-pop album may contain an ‘experimental’ track or two. (Meaning incoherent, atonal, noise laden tracks that only ‘high-minded intellectuals’ can decipher, understand and enjoy.) Rest assured…no such duds on this album, or ANY of Space March’s albums, for that matter.
Rating: 5 stars
Publication: Amazon
Date: 31 January 2013
Reviewer: Jon Jorgensen
Web Site Review Page: Amazon Customer Review
Awesome
The song Monumental is awesome and happy. I love the quality of the music too. I don’t know why I never heard of this band before either. I can’t wait for the next album coming out next month! Now excuse me while I listen to this album 1,000,000 times as I always do when I find such an awesome album!
Rating: 5 stars
Publication: Amazon
Date: 23 July 2012
Reviewer: J. Morris
Web Site Review Page: Amazon Customer Review
Read Junk Review (2012)
For those who love early 80s synth pop – and I mean the real stuff, like Human League, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Tears for Fears, etc. – you can’t get a nostalgic act much purer than Space March. But they’re not just a shallow, ironic throwback – Space March is earnest and damn good. So poppy, so catchy, and so pitch perfect, you will wonder if they are covers of obscure one-hit wonders from the Rubik’s Cube era.
Craig Simmons’s nerdy and nasal vocals are the only weak spot. Luckily, they’re less pronounced (and more distorted) here than on “Without This You Can Never Change,” an album similarly filled with synthy dance-pop gems but with froggier (sometimes cringe-inducing) vocals. If he had a more British-style (Simmons is Australian), “New Romantic” accent, Space March could be huge and single handedly bring back the ’80s. Vocals aside, I don’t see how any radio could resist these tunes.
Bottom Line: Brilliant early 80s-style dance-pop gems.
Notable Tracks: American Girl, Monumental, Get What You Deserve, Eye for an Eye, Stop the Press
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Publication: Read Junk
Date: 15 October 2012
Reviewer: Adam Coozer
Web Site Review Page: Read Junk
Read Junk Review (2011)
This album is from the 1980s right? Space March is from Australia and play guilty pleasure Synth Pop. If you like Erasure, New Order and Depeche Mode, you’ll appreciate the synthy poppiness of Space March. I feel like doing “the robot.”
Space March is an indie-synthpop project from Craig Simmons and Monumental is the third album. I didn’t know I would actually enjoy this album as much as I did. I suppose I’m a bit nostalgic of the 80s pop music. I’m a sucker for it basically. The synth part of the music is really catchy, and the vocals is similar to the Pet Shop Boys. I’m actually surprised I haven’t heard of Space March until now because this would be something I would like. The first two tracks “American Girl” and “Monumental” are my favorites on the album. “Do You Remember My Name” has some nice reference to Duran Duran. All in all, most of the album is just a lot of fun to listen to. Don’t be a pencil neck, listen to some tracks!
Bottom Line: If this music was released in the 80s, it would be an international hit
Notable Tracks: American Girl, Monumental, Do You Remember My Name
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
Publication: Read Junk
Date: 6 December 2011
Reviewer: Bryan Kremkau
Web Site Review Page: Read Junk
Our Picks for Top Albums of the Year 2011
The Bop 2 Pop blog put together their top album picks for 2011, and although Monumental did not make the Top 5, it did receive an honourable mention amongst esteemed company such as Yelle’s Safari Disco Club. Check out the Full Article.
1. The Sound of Arrows – Voyage
2. Mirrors – Lights and Offerings
3. Queen of Hearts – The Arrival
4. Johan Agebjorn – Casablance Nights
5. Monarchy – Around The Sun
Honorable Mentionables
Washed Out: Within and Without
Space March: Monumental
Holy Ghost: Holy Ghost
Nightlife: Radio
Emmon: Nomme
Yelle: Safari Disco Club
Bop 2 Pop Review
Space March is the indie-synthpop project of Australian songwriter and producer, Craig Simmons. The single, Space Cowboy is mixed by legendary producer Mark Saunders. This trippy video was shot in Mungo National Park in Australia by Alex Harris. We are totally taken in by Space March‘s insanely clever melodies and barebones synth hooks that seem so authentic, you may actually think it actually came from the 80s. We have also included the James Bond theme-sounding, Eye For An Eye and American Girl, both ripe for single releases.
Publication: Bop 2 Pop
Date: 27 November 2011
Web Site Review Page: Bop 2 Pop
Electronic Rumors Review
‘Monumental’ is the third album from Australian Modern SynthPop artist Space March.
The record is a collection of twelve tracks of melodic and lilting electronic Pop tracks that have a definite emphasis on hooks. There is a pure Pop sensibility at work on much here, especially the likes of the title track where synths, guitar and bouncy vocals work in tandem. That’s not to say, though, that most of the album isn’t pretty dancefloor oriented. From the pumping Italo Disco of ‘Get What You Deserve’ to the grandiose soundtrack dance epic of ‘Eye For An Eye’, Space march’s combination of machine beats and synths with a Sci-Fi twist with organic instrumentation and vocals with a hint of drama makes for quite a rousing experience and a SynthPop album that rings with a sense of narrative. Now, long-time readers will know how I feel about the so-called Modern SynthPop scene, and there is a strong strain of Modern SynthPop in this record’s DNA. What sets it apart, though, is the production. Everything is clean and sits together well in the mix, there’s not a hint of the amateurish, bedroom production (with no idea how to produce drums) that plagues the majority of Modern SynthPop, whether that has anything to do with input from Erasure/Depeche Mode/A-Ha/Tricky collaborator Mark Saunders in the mixing department I’m not sure, but whatever the reason Space march have made a Modern SynthPop record that is head and shoulders above it’s contemporaries.
Publication: Electronic Rumors
Date: November 24, 2011
Reviewer: Clive ‘Crash’ Lewis
Web Site Review Page: Electronic Rumors
Lyrics
Artwork
Info
Chronology: | Album 3 |
Released (Digital): | 26 August 2011 |
Released (CD): | 12 September 2011 |
Labels: | Hark Records / Space March Pty Ltd |
Production: | All tracks written, arranged and produced by Craig Simmons. Tracks 1 – 7 mixed and additional production by Mark Saunders. Tracks 8 – 12 mixed by Craig Simmons. Mastered by BEAT360, New York. Art & design by Craig Simmons. |
Performers: | Craig Simmons performs Lead Vocals, Keyboards and Beats. Tania Doria as Electra-city performs Lead Vocal duet on Eye For An Eye and Backing Vocals on Space Cowboy, Shadows, Do You Remember My Name?, Your Sex Appeal Is All That Matters, Alone On The Prairie. Jac Wilkins performs Guitar on Monumental, Space Cowboy, Shadows. |