Monsoon and the dark art rock eclipse of "O Brother" (Official Video)

 

"it gets harder to believe it with your red stained hands..."


"O Brother", the third single off of Athens (GA) based Monsoon's upcoming 2022 album "Ghost Party", is an artful blur of a song, a crushed can of explosive art rock and sunburned ID, naked for all to see. Now being able to see it all will take repeated listens or watches, if you are taking about the wonderfully cheeky Official Video. For one thing, the song rushes right out of the box with Sienna Chandler's intriguing vocals crooning, wailing equally intriguing lyrics. Let's be clear, however this song was distilled it, at it's core, came tumbling out of Chandler's divergent mind. I couldn't help but think of the much misunderstood Charles Thompson (Black Francis) of the Pixies whose exquisitely penned songs were massaged by a rigid Catholic upbringing, shaped and metamorphosized into (sometimes) garish bits of fiction. I love the Pixies for that reason, Thompson's complex underpinnings pushed by truly original passionate music. I feel this kind of thing happening with Chandler's provocative storytelling. Now, I don't make the comparison to suggest (not for one second) that she had a similar such background. Maybe I will be able to delve into that in the future.   

If "O Brother" was a book it, I imagine it being one penned by an amalgam of Joyce Maynard and Donald Ray Pollack. The lyrics taken literally are one thing and taken metaphorically are another but either way they are darkly, cryptically drawn. They say the truth lies in between the lines. I don't think it matters really because I look at songs as sonic Rorschach tests (I truly do) where we all see out own truths in them or enjoy them in a myriad of ways. I do love the poetry, the sounds and vision that mixes light and dark. Teaspoons of honey that may or may not contain hallucinogens or poisons. This is only the second song by Monsoon that I have dived deeply into and my impression of the band and Sienna Chandler as the artful auteur has quadrupled. I don't think that Monsoon will ever create 'quote unquote' pop music, fast food songs for the masses and for that (if I am correct) I am forever grateful. 

-Robb Donker Curtius 

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://www.monsoonforever.com/

https://www.facebook.com/monsoonmusic/

https://twitter.com/monsoonband

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZRsRAHWhzra474333Qtb9

https://monsoonband.bandcamp.com/album/ride-arolla


Monsoon is a three-piece Vogue Rock band from Athens, Georgia, fronted by Sienna Chandler on guitar/vocals, Roan O'Reilly on bass/vocals and Joey Kegel on drums. After capturing a mass audience from their song placement [Ride A'Rolla] in the 2016 Toyota Corolla commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, Monsoon will be set to release new album "Ghost Party" in the spring of 2022. less


indie rock, Monsoon, Athens, Georgia, divergent pop, indie experimental, lush rock, art rock, art pop, Sienna Chandler, Roan O'Reilly, Joey Kegel, surprising twists, "Ghost Party" 2022, "O Brother",