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Monument Builders

Monument Builders is a studio album by Canadian composer and record producer Scott Morgan under the pseudonym Loscil. It was released on November 11, 2016, through Kranky. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.

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Jul 9, 2026
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Monument Builders
Studio album by
Loscil
ReleasedNovember 11, 2016 (2016-11-11)
Genre
Length37:40
LabelKranky
ProducerScott Morgan
Loscil chronology
Sea Island
(2014) 		Monument Builders
(2016) 		Equivalents
(2019)

Monument Builders is a studio album by Canadian composer and record producer Scott Morgan under the pseudonym Loscil.3 It was released on November 11, 2016, through Kranky.4 It received generally favorable reviews from critics.5

Background

Monument Builders is Loscil's first studio album since Sea Island (2014).6 He drew inspiration from rewatching a VHS copy of the documentary film Koyaanisqatsi (1982), as well as its score composed by Philip Glass.7 He was also inspired by the works of photographer Edward Burtynsky and the writings of philosopher John Gray.7 A music video was released for the track "Drained Lake".8

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/1005
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarHalf star1
Exclaim!8/109
The Line of Best Fit8/1010
Pitchfork7.4/1011
PopMatters7/1012
The SkinnyStarStarStarStar13

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Monument Builders received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 from 11 critic scores.5

Heather Phares of AllMusic stated, "Monument Builders is a powerful reminder that ambient music is a fine conduit for emotionally and politically charged messages, and it's one of Morgan's finest works yet."1 Daniel Sylvester of Exclaim! commented that the album "finds Loscil at his most focused, political and meticulous, a bleak but fulfilling listen whether you're aware of the album's brainy themes or not."9 Brian Burlage of Pitchfork described it as "a highly visual album, a mosaic of images depicting construction, erasure, devastation, redemption, and transformation."11

Finbarr Bermingham of The Skinny stated, "This is a breathless and dense record, built on layers of crackle, fuzz and dystopian fugue."13 He added, "What really capture the imagination, though, are the fleeting, stark melodies Loscil introduces on almost every track."13 Ian King of The Line of Best Fit stated, "Leaving listeners in the 'Weeds' surrounded by a swirl of haunting whispers, Monument Builders doesn't offer a happy ending, but nor is it devoid of hope."10 He added, "Perhaps Loscil's most confrontational record, it processes the darkness in order to expunge it."10

Accolades

Year-end lists for Monument Builders
Publication List Rank Ref.
AllMusic Favorite Electronic Albums
—
2
Somewherecold Top 10 Albums of the Year
4
14

Track listing

All tracks are written by Scott Morgan.

Monument Builders track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Drained Lake"6:46
2."Red Tide"5:25
3."Monument Builders"4:43
4."Straw Dogs"4:57
5."Deceiver"4:41
6."Anthropocene"4:39
7."Weeds"6:29
Total length:37:40

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.15

  • Scott Morgan – production
  • Nick Anderson – French horn (2–4, 6)
  • Erik Nielsen – French horn recording (2–4, 6)
  • Joshua Stevenson – synthesis (2, 6)
  • Ashley Pitre – vocal sample (7)
  • Rafael Anton – mastering
  • Bob Weston – lathe cut
References

References

  1. Phares, Heather. "Monument Builders - Loscil". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  2. "Favorite Electronic Albums | AllMusic 2016 in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  3. Phares, Heather. "Loscil". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  4. Mrozek, Patryk (September 8, 2016). "Loscil announces new album Monument Builders on Kranky". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  5. "Monument Builders by Loscil". Metacritic. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  6. Adams, Gregory (September 8, 2016). "Loscil Announces Philip Glass-Inspired 'Monument Builders' Album". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  7. Sylvester, Daniel (November 16, 2016). "Loscil Explores End Times on 'Monument Builders'". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  8. Thiessen, Brock (October 11, 2016). "Loscil "Drained Lake" (video)". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  9. Sylvester, Daniel (November 9, 2016). "Loscil". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  10. King, Ian (November 2, 2016). "Loscil's Monument Builders processes darkness in order to expunge it". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  11. Burlage, Brian (November 14, 2016). "Loscil: Monument Builders". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  12. Duricy, Brian (November 30, 2016). "Loscil: Monument Builders". PopMatters. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  13. Bermingham, Finbarr (November 3, 2016). "Loscil – Monument Builders". The Skinny. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  14. "Somewherecold Awards 2016". Somewherecold. December 9, 2016. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  15. Loscil (2016). Monument Builders (CD booklet). Kranky.
External links