Showing posts with label Mona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mona. Show all posts
CD Review: Mona
Not so long ago, I checked out Mona's EP. Now this week sees the American release of their self-titled debut album, Mona. Clad in skinny jeans and James Dean haircuts, this Nashville-based band exudes swagger, with Nick Brown on lead vocals/guitars, Vince Gard on drums, Zach Lindsey on bass/vocals, and Jordan Young on guitar and vocals.The album still has the same static-y guitars and rock indie sound but with the additional songs comes a very satisfying range not captured in the EP. The track "I Seen" highlights their Southern blues-rock roots, while "Alibis" gives a nod to it dressed in a plaintive croon. For a change of pace, "Pavement" opens up with piano before moving into a quieter version of their power chords. "Shooting the Moon" gives us the same kind of controlled wall of sound we heard in "Trouble On The Way," while "Taboo Lights" and "The Tally" turns a bit more pop. "Lines In The Sand" still remains their big anthem and I think is the one I'm most intrigued to hear live. I still feel a strong shoegaze influence in their music, but I can never imagine that these guys, with their brash rock and roll attitude, would look to the floor while belting out their angry lyrics. In fact, while I haven't had the pleasure yet of seeing them live, I've heard that their energy while performing is one of the biggest treats of this band.
Concert Review: Mona, Rock & Roll Hotel
When it comes to concerts, it's no secret that I've been to hundreds and that almost all of them prove enjoyable in thousands of tiny ways. And yet with all the recent buzz surrounding Mona, I still found myself resolving to walk through the doors with objectivity firmly in my grasp and a reviewer's righteous levity and wary eye to aid in my impartial observation of the show.
After all, this was a band whose lead singer once claimed they were going to be able to unseat Bono and his very massive cranium from the throne in the ultimate number one frontman ivory tower. Not that I'd be upset if that toppled over and crashed to the ground. Ahem. But still, perhaps this group could use a clinical dressing down from someone who has been around the block a few times.
Right.
Well all that crap melted away the second Mona took the stage at the ol' Rock & Roll Hotel, where they proceeded to wow me with their varying degrees of greatness.
Airtight execution, rock god stage presence, great songs: this was like watching a band who'd been playing together for forty years. I was blown away.
Lead singer Nick Brown has an easy way with his infectious energy and I couldn't help but make mental notes that he kept alternating between channeling Joe Strummer, Brian Setzer and Paul McCartney at different points during the night. Guitarist Jordan Young (who looks like a James Dean/Chris Isaak hybrid) , Vince Gard (drums), and Zach Lindsey (bass) all brought fistfulls of their own mojo and as a tight knit powerhouse they kept the very loving and rapt audience satisfied.
These are big explosive powerful tunes meant to be played loud at stadiums so I admit to being worried about how they would translate in a mid-sized venue like the Rock & Roll Hotel, but all doubts vanished as soon as the especially impressive sound system proved worthy of the task.
They ran through their list of well-loved songs, waiting until the end to unleash the newly-minted alt-rock darling (just ask Sirius XMU's Jake Fogelnest) "Lean Into The Fall," thereby leaving the danced- and sung-out audience spent on the floor from sheer exhaustive joy.
While I'll usually point out some of the more memorable highlights of a show that impressed me, this honestly rates in the top five performances I've ever seen musically. Take that as you will, but keep in mind that in the last year alone I've seen The Cure, The Pixies, Guided By Voices, Jeff Mangum, and The Pogues to name a few, so I don't award that kind of praise lightly.
This is a live band you should not miss and I cannot stress enough that if you have the chance to see them at a venue near you, YOU MUST RUN, NOT WALK to the box office. For the next time they come around you may find yourself hard pressed to find a ticket.
MORE IMAGES AFTER THE JUMP
After all, this was a band whose lead singer once claimed they were going to be able to unseat Bono and his very massive cranium from the throne in the ultimate number one frontman ivory tower. Not that I'd be upset if that toppled over and crashed to the ground. Ahem. But still, perhaps this group could use a clinical dressing down from someone who has been around the block a few times.
Right.
Well all that crap melted away the second Mona took the stage at the ol' Rock & Roll Hotel, where they proceeded to wow me with their varying degrees of greatness.
Airtight execution, rock god stage presence, great songs: this was like watching a band who'd been playing together for forty years. I was blown away.
Lead singer Nick Brown has an easy way with his infectious energy and I couldn't help but make mental notes that he kept alternating between channeling Joe Strummer, Brian Setzer and Paul McCartney at different points during the night. Guitarist Jordan Young (who looks like a James Dean/Chris Isaak hybrid) , Vince Gard (drums), and Zach Lindsey (bass) all brought fistfulls of their own mojo and as a tight knit powerhouse they kept the very loving and rapt audience satisfied.
These are big explosive powerful tunes meant to be played loud at stadiums so I admit to being worried about how they would translate in a mid-sized venue like the Rock & Roll Hotel, but all doubts vanished as soon as the especially impressive sound system proved worthy of the task.
They ran through their list of well-loved songs, waiting until the end to unleash the newly-minted alt-rock darling (just ask Sirius XMU's Jake Fogelnest) "Lean Into The Fall," thereby leaving the danced- and sung-out audience spent on the floor from sheer exhaustive joy.
While I'll usually point out some of the more memorable highlights of a show that impressed me, this honestly rates in the top five performances I've ever seen musically. Take that as you will, but keep in mind that in the last year alone I've seen The Cure, The Pixies, Guided By Voices, Jeff Mangum, and The Pogues to name a few, so I don't award that kind of praise lightly.
This is a live band you should not miss and I cannot stress enough that if you have the chance to see them at a venue near you, YOU MUST RUN, NOT WALK to the box office. For the next time they come around you may find yourself hard pressed to find a ticket.
MORE IMAGES AFTER THE JUMP
CD Review: Mona, EP
There was nothing quite like the anticipation of buying a new single... anxiously awaiting your allowance, walking to the record store on a hot summer day, all to get a copy of that song you may have heard on the radio. And of course, listen to another unknown tune on the flip side, like a present waiting to be unwrapped. The times you got a single with four, FOUR!, songs was sweet squealing bonus.
Today, single releases get downloaded to your computer but it makes the anticipation no less sweet. Just a lot faster.
I felt that sense of unwrapping a present when I listened to the four track Mona EP. With Nick Brown on lead vocals/guitars, Vince Gard on drums, Zach Lindsey on bass/vocals, and Jordan Young on guitar/vocals, the Nashville-based group pour out a pleasing wave of static-y guitars and driving rhythms. Their brand of alternative rocks reminds me a bit of OG shoegaze (not nu-gaze) but with a modern energy and guitar hooks that will have you first bopping your head and then singing along in no time. I especially liked the angry anthem feel of "Lines In The Sand," but the catchiness of "Listen to Your Love" is no less addictive. It's the type of rock you play at a house party right before it gets crashed by the cops. I can't say the lyrics are anything to write home about, but with this band at the beginning of their career I'm already looking forward to watching how they develop. And this set, which also included the tracks "Teenager" and "Trouble On The Way," gave me an anticipatory taste of what's to be found on their self-titled debut album, Mona, which was released in the US this spring.
Want more Mona? Visit their hompage, Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace. You can find their music on iTunes and Amazon.
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