Music
Press
"It's a pop song dressed up in layers and layers of feedbacking guitars and slightly distorted, sing-song vocals by Jenn Wasner, and it sounds like the work of at least fifteen musical scientists instead of two."
----http://idolator.com/tunes/mp3/listening-station-monarch-flies-into-our-summer-playlist-285209.php - www.idolator.com
"If Children proves that Monarch is catchy--a rare commodity in a subgenre so fixated on texture. Despite the gorgeous break for some watery guitar around 2:20, "Warning" is as sing-along memorable--if you can make out the words, that is--as any indie-rock tune you'll hear this year"
- Baltimore City Paper
They take what should be simple folk songs and turn them into layered works of art. Even better, is how Monarch manages to recreate a full band sound live, only using 2 people.
- Instrumental Analysis
"Seemingly co-writing with ease, this multiple-instrumentalist young duo have the ability to make effortless gorgeous lush dreamy indie pop that evokes the good ol days when a wall of guitars could put you in a happy pensive mood." - Wongie's Music World
"I listened to this album on repeat almost the entire day yesterday, and not just because the band is from baltimore, but because I find this album to be THAT good." - Quarterlife Party
Discography
If Children - full length released April 27th, 2007, distributed by Morphius
Photos
Bio
After spending their formative years in Baltimore creating bands and watching them fall apart, Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner of Monarch realized in the summer of 2006 that they’d have to learn to make all of the noise themselves. In under a year performing and recording as experimental pop duo Monarch, the two multi-instrumentalists and songwriters have come to be known as “the rare indie rock two-piece that could pass for a trio or quartet when you close your eyes” (Baltimore City Paper), winning over crowds at every venue Baltimore has to offer as well as audiences up and down the East Coast and Canada. The two have toured or shared bills with the likes of Marnie Stern, Arbouretum, Beach House,Thrushes, Wax & Wane, and A Sunny Day in Glasgow.
In under a year, Monarch establishsed themselves in Baltimore without a single recording to their name. On April 27th, they released their first: “If Children”, a full-length record whose 11 songs are written and performed entirely by the duo themselves. Mixed by Eric Morrison of NYC behemoths Home, the record expands upon Monarch’s stripped down and raucous live show--which, in part, convinced Morrison and others to invite the duo to join the long-standing Screw Music Forever collective after their performance at the group’s Come the Freak On Festival in October of 2006.
Response to “If Children” has been overwhelmingly positive. The record is in regular rotation at WTMD 89.7 Baltimore, and the band has been featured on the Signal, an NPR arts and culture program on WYPR 88.1 Baltimore. Reviews of the record have matched the hype of the live show :
“If Children proves that Monarch is catchy--a rare commodity in a subgenre so fixated on texture. Despite the gorgeous break for some watery guitar around 2:20, "Warning" is as sing-along memorable--if you can make out the words, that is--as any indie-rock tune you'll hear this year” -Baltimore City Paper
For Booking, contact Jeremy @ Invisible City
http://www.becomeinvisible.com
Stream the whole record for free:
http://www.morphius.com/label/index.cfm?cc=MMM01
Links
