If you’re not Greek, it’s likely that you’ve never heard of Monika. The pop musician has gone platinum twice in her home country since debuting as a solo artist in 2008 with the album Avatar, but this is her first time experimenting with a fresh production approach. For new listeners, it’s a good time to sit down and acquaint yourselves with her exuberant, Arcade Fire-like artpop. Gone are the plucked acoustic guitar lines of the single Over the Hill (2010) or the gentle orchestral noodling of Babe (2009). A chance encounter in New York with Dap-Kings’ drummer Homer Steinweiss bloomed into this experimental album, a wholly Daptone Records affair that attempts to stuff the irrepressible energies of disco, funk and soul into one package. When it works, as on Stripping’s icy disco-funk, Monika shines. Elsewhere, she’s in danger of trying to cram too much into one song, falling victim to an abundance of ideas that dilute her idiosyncratic style.
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