Dim Mak Records; 2003
Rating: 4.1

A political statement album for social change (mostly) without lyrics? Sure, why not. ‘Sharpshooter’ tellingly opens the album with wandering guitar harmonics interrupted by channel surfing samples & static. The song quickly reaches near-metal heaviness just before we hear news reports on the fallen WTC towers. Oh, so it’s gonna be that kind of record. A few minutes later, we hear Noam Chomsky’s speech on the United States’ serial genocide, and the third track begins with Mark Hunter (Christian Slater in Pump Up the Volume) asking, “Do you ever get the feeling that everything in America is completely fucked up?” Yes, it’s definitely that kind of record.

As a soundtrack for those angry with America, Impossible Leap in 34 Simple Steps caters to a vast audience. But what of the music? FMtM get their message across with speech samples of such diverse voices as Malcolm X, George W. Bush, and Kirk Douglas’ Col. Dax from Paths of Glory, tying them together with heavy Tortoise-style post-rock. Shifting musical tones communicate how they feel about each sampled quote, a simple trick that occasionally works. The volatile mix of instruments and samples is politically undermining as intended when it works (’Comrades and Friends’), and boring and contrived when it doesn’t (’The Quiet Before’). From Monument to Masses have talent, passion, and vision, but all must be refined. They have a lot of work to do before they record anything that inspires people.