Straddling the fence with musical styles can be a smashing success… or simply make your crotch tired. Luckily for Monarchy, a British duo currently signed to Mercury Records UK, their blending of genres works in spades. The group is infectious, melodic, lyrically interesting and – most importantly for their synth-pop niche – totally danceable. The men of Monarchy have managed to turn out consistently layered and funky tracks since their debut in 2009. Most commonly referred to as synth-pop artists, Monarchy stretch the definition a bit, and their debut album, Around the Sun, would be equally at home in the playlists of a Chemical Brothers’ fan or a Mike Posner addict.

A Brief History

They first gained some attention in late 2009 when The Guardian chose them as their online “Band of the Day”.  Monarchy is comprised of vocalist Edward Nigma and  Peter Uzzle, and the duo’s first two singles, “Gold In The Fire” and “Black The Colour of My Heart”, were released under Neon Gold Records in early 2010.  While “Gold in the Fire” felt a little uncertain, “Black, The Colour of My Heart” was nothing if not assured.  With a slow build-up at the top of the track and the addition of a simple drum track, plus Edward Nigma’s 80s R&B-influenced tenor vocals over the top, “Black…” was a clear sign of things to come for the duo.

Their musical style is difficult to define, and they are notoriously cagey about revealing too much about themselves or their music.  They rarely give interviews, and there is little information about them available online.  Their web site focuses on their music and touring schedule, but delivers no insight into the duo or their process.  Their music and live shows have to speak for themselves.

Live Performance

They began performing live in June of 2010, becoming the first band to beam a live concert into space while performing at Cape Canaveral in the United States.  Throughout the rest of 2010 and much of 2011, they have toured extensively, building a growing reputation for excellent live shows.  Though they are not often known going into the concert, it is not uncommon to hear recently converted fans cite the duo as “the best performance of the festival”, or their “new personal favorite” on their way out of the venue.  They have appeared at XOYO, HMV Forum, Eurosonic (Holland), MIDEM (Cannes), Coachella, the Hay Festival in Wales, and the Melt! Festival in Germany, among other festivals, and are scheduled to perform at at KOKO in the UK, Tunnel in Italy, the Together Winter Music Festival, and at the Highline Ballroom in New York in the month of November 2011 alone.

Around the Sun

July 2011 saw the release of their first album, Around the Sun. In keeping with the stylistic fusing that made their debut tracks so fascinating, Monarchy released two tracks from the album back-to-back, “Maybe I’m Crazy” and “You Don’t Want to Dance with Me”.  “Maybe I’m Crazy” is a lush track that feels like the electronic answer to Coldplay’s “Clocks”.  While the second track, “You Don’t Want to Dance with Me” featuring UK artist Britt Love, rests somewhere between Morcheeba, Duran Duran, and Lady Gaga.  It packs a semi-Gothic bass line, reminiscent of Enigma and combined with a catchy melody shared between Mr. Nigma and Ms. Love. This is tied together with a spare drum beat and a notoriously hummable chorus, all making “You Don’t Want to Dance with Me” ripe for excessive radio play.

Remixes and the Future

In addition to the very solid work displayed on “Around the Sun”, Monarchy has also successfully remixed tracks for multiple artists, including Lady Gaga’s “Dance in the Dark” for her remix album, Jamiroquai’s “White Knuckle Ride”, Kylie Minogue’s “Better Than Today”, and Ellie Goulding’s “Starry Eyed”, among many others.  All of their remixes display their penchant for borrowing from multiple musical influences.   They are not overly precious about the original tracks, and will slow music down, layer multiple rhythmic tracks over the song, play with the melody, and literally construct something new, but still recognizably tied to the original.  It is a direct testament to the musical genius of a duo that is clearly just getting warmed up.  It will be very interesting to see what they create, and how they continue to innovate over the next few years.  If you have the chance to see them, rent a car, pay for some drink driving insurance, and head straight for the venue.  Getting a ticket to see them now is still pretty easy, but it is only a matter of time before the awesome secret that is Monarchy is let out.

RIYL: The Chemical Brothers, Penguin Prison, Fenech-Soler, Bag Raiders, Miami Horror, Anoraak, Grum, Minitel Rose, Holy Ghost!, Tesla Boy, The Golden Filter, Private

MP3: Monarchy – Black The Colour of My Heart

Monarchy – You Don’t Want To Dance With Me (feat. Britt Love)

Monarchy – I Won’t Let Go

MP3: Monarchy – The Phoenix Alive

Monarchy – Love Get Out Of My Way (Sinden Remix)

MySpace / BUY

The post Monarchy: Straddling Genres and Near-Stardom appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

The sound of Ghost Mall is indescribable. But the band, made up of college roommates Pierce, Alex, Cody, and Jimi, give it their best shot. “Garage-y ramshackle pop/ethereal,” lead singer Pierce Lightening struggles, attempting to put a label on his own music. With a lead singer named Pierce Lightening, and influences along the lines of “Babes, Springsteen, Comic Books, and Star Wars,” you are naturally drawn to the quartet. What is surprisingly more interesting than the band members themselves is the music on their first album, Goons.

The album, produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik, features five well-done and oddly classy songs. The EP starts out with the marijuana-induced “40 Nugs”, and while I would have chosen a different track for the first, it sets an appropriate tone to the album without giving away their mysterious style. Next is “Senile Felines”, setting a dark synthesized tone that lures the listener further in. The next couple of tracks are “Young Liars”, followed by “Balloon Idea’s”, which captures an eerie essence while keeping it light; it samples a few lines from Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” with convincing maneuvers. The final track, “Johnny Appleseed”, serves as a near-perfect ending. It is more of an anthem than anything, providing the listener with a soft sort of closure.

The album itself is a work of art, but it is clear that Ghost Mall are about performance art more than anything else. Ethan Barnett, a fan, describes a show in full detail. “The first time I saw them, it was in the basement of SUNY New Paltz. It was one of the coldest nights of that winter, but as soon as I got into the basement and Ghost Mall was about to begin their set, I began to sweat because there were about 75 people packed into a small classroom. They began their first song and the room turned into a beehive, with everyone dancing in every direction. The lead singer was lost in the crowd, and all you could see was one of his hands. By the time they began their second song, the keyboardist and guitarist were lost in the mess too. Midway through their set, Pierce was thrown up into a crowd surf, and he held onto a water pole that was soaking wet from condensation. After the final song, “Johnny Appleseed”, everyone ran out the exit covered with sweat. Head to toe.”

“I don’t know what we’re trying to achieve,” Pierce says about his band’s music. “We’re just being honest. Sometimes it’s about our specific friends, sometimes it’s about how everything should be. Mostly, our songs are about the end of the world. So maybe they’re a warning.”

You can catch Ghost Mall on September 24th at 323 Wall Street in Uptown Kingston, New York.

RIYL: Japanther, Penguin Prison, Male Bonding, Urinals, Latterman, Cloud Nothings, Abe Vigoda, Times New Viking, No Age, The Mae Shi, Parts & Labor, Psychedelic Horseshit, AIDS Wolf, Wavves, Lightning Bolt, Jay Reatard, NODZZZ, Sic Alps, HEALTH, Arab on Radar

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Ghost Mall – 40 Nugs

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Ghost Mall – Balloon Ideas

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Ghost Mall – Johnny Appleseed (acoustic version)

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Official Site

MySpace

The post Ghost Mall appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Jay Mattson

If you haven’t heard Sleigh Bells yet, you haven’t been listening hard enough.  If you have heard Sleigh Bells, your hearing (and speakers) have already taken quite a beating.  In late 2009, Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss rose out of the mist of the CMJ Music Marathon and dropped a treble-saturated bomb onto the underground music world.  The band’s first single, “Crown on the Ground”,  is a monstrous song; it surges with an energy rarely seen in today’s indie scene.  It’s not surprising, though, as Miller used to be a member of hardcore outfit Poison the Well.  What is surprising is about Krauss’ musical background is her involvement with girl-pop group Rubyblue.  Somehow, one part hardcore guitarist + one part pop princess = gritty, infectious noise-rock.  CMJ was the beginning of the Sleigh Bells onslaught, but it was just that: the beginning.

In early 2010, Sleigh Bells was confirmed to play both Coachella Music & Arts Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival.  Overlapping acts between Coachella and Pitchfork isn’t uncommon (see Beirut in 2009 and Pavement this year).  Miller and Krauss, though, succeeded in booking two of the major indie music festivals this year without a proper release of any sort. With only a single (technically unreleased) CD-R under their belt, Sleigh Bells still managed to catch the attention of anyone who heard them.  In love-it-or-hate-it fashion, some listeners have trouble getting past their utterly forceful jams, others can’t get enough (myself included).

The third track on their demo disc, 2HELLWU CD-R, “Beach Girls”, shows how versatile Sleigh Bells aims to become.  While not veering from the over-the-top treble work of “Crown on the Ground”, it is a different kind of noise.  Synthesizers play a heavy roll on “Beach Girls”, which adds to the motif of the track and feels like a dystopian version of what a beach jam should be.  With “Infinity Guitars”, yet another facet of Sleigh Bells is revealed to the tune of murky, dirty ’90s rock mixed with a beat-conscious producer.  My favorite track on the CD-R has to be “A/B Machines”, a song that swells with a twisted, gnarled melody that would make Jesse Keeler and Sebastian Grainger cringe with excitement.  Oddly, the ‘title track’, “2HELLWU”, is the most soft-spoken, tender track of the bunch, with only minimal backing for Krauss’ impeccable vocal style.

Recently, Miller and Krauss released the first single from their debut album, Treats. Aptly named “Tell ‘Em”, it is a confident showing of excellence.  Seeing as this track will probably be the first Sleigh Bells song heard by a broader audience, it delivers a sincere and powerful representation of the material we’ve already heard.  Power-guitars and smoldering drum work succeeds in destroying my speakers (yet again) while pulling me in so hard that I can’t turn it off, even to save my poor Korean-brand sub-woofer from certain doom.

It’s hard to categorize Sleigh Bells.  Today, a venerable volcano of lo-fi indie pop/rock has been erupting from the New York scene (see Vivian Girls, Cymbals Eat Guitars, etc.). Miller and Krauss have taken elements of this scene and infused a grandiose sense of noise and rock so succinctly that it feels effortless in the face of so many down-tempo acts who rigorously attempt to provide their own uniqueness in a sea of similar bands.  If Treats doesn’t deliver, it might be one of the biggest letdowns of the year.  But that doesn’t seem likely.  Sleigh Bells has, thus far, shown impressive ability to create amazing music, and that momentum doesn’t seem to to be slowing down any time soon. Treats is out May 11th on N.E.E.T and Mom + Pop Records.

RIYL: Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Toro y Moi, Neon Indian, Real Estate, Beach Fossils, Phantogram, Smith Westerns, Titus Andronicus, Beach House, Zola Jesus, Girls, Penguin Prison, Delorean, Eternal Summers

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Sleigh Bells – Ring Ring

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Sleigh Bells – Beach Girls

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Sleigh Bells – Crown on the Ground

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MySpace

2HELLWU

The post Sleigh Bells: Destroying Speakers Since 2009 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.