TEMPORARY RESIDENCE LTD.
MONO - Snowdrop MONO
When MONO recorded their previous album, OATH, with longtime production partner and friend Steve Albini in 2023, they never imagined it would be the final studio album they made together. Albini tragically died the following year, leaving an incalculable void in the lives of not only everyone who knew him, but also everyone with an attachment to any of the thousands of records he helped bring into the world over the past four decades. He brought clarity to chaos and a selfless dedication to art and artists that was unrivaled.
On both a personal and practical level, the loss left MONO facing profound grief and uncertainty. Albini had become a fundamental part of MONO’s unmistakable sound, and the idea of replacing him was daunting to say the least. Enter Brad Wood (Touché Amoré, The Smashing Pumpkins).
Chosen for his familiarity with MONO’s creative and technical process—as well as his decades-long friendship with Steve Albini—Brad Wood entered Albini’s storied Electrical Audio studios in September 2025 to record what would become Snowdrop. Working once again with Chicago-based conductor and orchestral director Chad McCullough, MONO enlisted a 10-piece orchestra and an 8-piece choir for the eight massive compositions that make up Snowdrop. With the band performing and Wood recording in the same hallowed space where most of MONO’s records had been created over their 25-year history, the songs on Snowdrop carry an extra weight. Mixed by Wood at his Seagrass home studio in Los Angeles, the album feels both intimate and enveloping.
Where a pall could easily hang over Snowdrop, there is instead an extraordinary sense of gratitude. Rather than steeping in heartache, the album holds a poignant appreciation for a life well spent with a dear friend—and a yearning for what may come. Snowdrop is the sound of a band transforming shock and sadness into hope and wonder, finding renewed focus in the freedom of the unknown.
Track List
1. Snowdrop (7:15)
2. Winter Daphne (5:54)
3. Gerbera (7:46)
4. Statice (5:17)
5. Hedera (4:38)
6. Shion (5:03)
7. Bells of Ireland (5:59)
8. Farewell to Spring (7:32)
Pickup available at Cambridge
Usually ready in 24 hours. Unless it's a Pre-Order
Product information
Shipping
We aim to keep postage costs as low as possible while making sure your records arrive safely. All orders are packed securely using Defenda MusicMax stiff cardboard mailers, with plenty of “FRAGILE” tape, to provide the best protection in transit.
Shipping costs are calculated automatically at checkout based on the weight and destination of your order, along with packaging materials.
We send most orders via Royal Mail tracked services. For larger or heavier orders, we may use a courier service or split your order into multiple parcels to ensure it arrives safely and efficiently.
Pre-orders
Any items ordered alongside a pre-order item will be held back and posted alongside your pre-order. If you’d like them sent individually, please make separate orders.
On the subject of pre-orders, please note than release dates can change (sometimes not until the scheduled release date). Please keep an eye on our website
Returns
Returns Procedure
If you wish to cancel or return an order, you need to notify us by email (quoting your order number), and wait for us to get back to you before returning goods.
We will email you with instructions and a returns reference number. When returning items to us, you will need to take reasonable care to ensure they are not damaged in transit and that they are labelled clearly with the correct address & reference number (as provided by us) :
Relevant Record Café,
260 Mill Road
Cambridge,
CB1 3NF.
We reserve the right to not process returns sent to us without prior permission.
It’s your responsibility to retain possession and to take reasonable care of the goods in the period prior to return and until you send them back to us.
Your Right To Cancel An Order
Your right to cancel your order starts from the moment you place the order, and ends 14 days from the time you receive your order.
Non-Faulty Products
If you wish to return a product because it’s unwanted or it was ordered in error, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
We’ll happily accept a return as long as the product is still in its original shrink-wrapped packaging and is completely undamaged. You have 14 days from when you receive your order to notify us that you wish to return your order.
By opening a sealed product in any way (or using any digital download code accompanying your order), you waive your right to cancel or return your order.
Obviously we’d rather offer you store credit (in the form of a gift card), but if you’d prefer a refund, we promise to get this sorted within 14 days of receiving your return.
Please take care when ordering!
Faulty Products
If you believe you have purchased a faulty or damaged record, please follow the returns procedure (see above).
Once we receive your record, it will be tested by a member of staff in store.
If your record is deemed as faulty, you will be entitled to a refund, swap or store credit (to the same value as your initial purchase).
If this record is not deemed as faulty, we will not cover any additional postage and packaging costs incurred by either you or us, and we will not be able to offer you a refund, store credit or swap.
Basically, please be absolutely certain the record you have purchased is faulty before following the returns procedure. If possible, we suggest testing the record on different turntables and weighting the tone arm differently.
Steepletone and Crosley Record Players
After having several “faulty” records returned to us (that in actuality had nothing wrong with them), we cannot guarantee that any records we sell will play correctly Crosley or Steepletone branded record players.