Artist: Monarchy
Album: Monarchy
Well, here's an interesting synth band that I know nothing about. And it seems that nobody else does either... they're not, speaking. Rumored to be French or Canadian... or possibly English and from London, what we do know for sure is that there are two in the band, based on illustrations of them as constellations in the sky used for cover art... they are both men. They released first single "Gold in the Fire" in 2009 onto MySpace, no friends, no explanation, just a song... and now their record is coming out and they are remixing for the likes of Marina & The Diamonds, Ellie Goulding, and Lady Gaga. But that's all we got.
I happened to find this small bio you can read up on. (though they fall over the band a little too much.)
Despite all the mystery behind them, their music is pretty straight-forward synthpop. It's 80's influenced for sure, and yet they remind me a bit of Empire of the Sun, not so much for their sound... just taking a time-tested genre and doing it with such a go-getter attitude and flamboyance... it could be a set of covers and it would come across a bit original. (If that makes any sense.) I haven't heard their remixes, but their self-titled album focuses on the pop versus the dancefloor, though it's clear that remixers can bridge that gap.
The melodies on the album bloom slowly instead of hitting you on the head. I've given this a couple listens and while I was set on highlighting single "Love Get Out of My Way" as that was the one I could most remember, a skip through the album reveals that many of their hooks had in fact gotten into me, I just hadn't remembered them. But upon a deep listen, tracks like "Black, Colour Of My Heart," "The Phoenix Alive," and "Floating Cars" really stand out.
If you're a fan of synthpop, this is new required listening.
Enjoy.
Love Get Out of My Way
The Phoenix Alive
See... they're strange
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