Monsters, from West Palm Beach, Florida, is a trio whose music sits squarely in the wheelhouse of fans of bands like Cinemechanica, Alarma Man and maybe even Battles when they're in their more straight-forward attack mode. Core members Matt Cutler, Ben Mendelewicz and Ross Whetstone handle their duties with an expertise far beyond their college-aged years. The most recent fruit of their labors is ♦, an instrumental 6-track EP that even in its slower moments pulses with a forward-leaning momentum.

Primarily, the music on ♦ is what can best be described as Boss Music. I'm sure you know the kind I'm talking about. It's what plays at the end of video game levels while the characters fight guys that are a little more badass than all the others they've seen so far. ♦ is the kind of album you should listen to while getting ready to head to an office job, pulling a windsor knot tight around your neck, and sucking in the satisfying sting of the freshest, mintiest breath you'll have all day. Listening to the guitars and snare drum shots firing with machine-gun precision and buzzsaw keyboard bass, one can only think of success. The music demands nothing less.

♦ only seems to be available through the band's myspace page, myspace.com/monstersband, where you can download it, stream it or order a CD that comes with a handcrafted booklet.