IT’S A KICK
Welcome to the world of Monocle Rose. Four immaculately dressed freaks who play the sort of manic shows the usual dullards might only turn in were they to be told they only had half an hour left to live. They speak of ‘Fast Day-Glo Defiance’, mix cherry coke with marmite and cheese into their music, and above else, they want Britain. And that means you….
Rosa and Richey are the toxic twosome that take care of the vocal and guitar duties. Richey takes up the story of how they met. “Rosa and I met last summer when our old bands played on the same bill at the Pleasure Unit. They both broke up by October so we thought it’d be a good idea to get together and write some songs. We found Matt (drums) through friends in February and Teo (bass) has just joined, this’ll be his first gig.”
And what a gig it should be. When the group tread the boards for twenty minutes of clipped, snarling mayhem, it must be said that performance is everything. On guitar, Richey is seemingly switched on at the same mains as his amp and finds it rather difficult to stay still at all, even for a split second. Visually, you are reminded of a young Pete Townsend all punked-up to the nines. Rosa, on the other hand, while being just as lively (if not more) has a tendency to end up rolling around on the floor at the climax of the set; you are then also reminded that bands just don’t put this much into their performances anymore. “Our shows are important because they give people a 20 minute break of dullness,” says Richey. “Playing live is the best bit about being in a band so when we’re up there we go for it.” Rosa also sees the importance of the band’s shows. “Live, we want to make maximum impact,” she says. “Every gig’s a chaotic show!”
The only bands they all truly have in common as influences are “probably just Blondie and The Ramones. We’re all into completely different music.” The carnal sound they make does recall the pop made by both those bands, but as things spiral further and further out of control, you are reminded of the likes of the Banshees, Patti Smith and X-Ray Spex, along with some of the classic sounds of the early 90s – most notably very early-period Manics and the riot-grrrl likes of L7. This, as you can imagine, is a very good thing. And it is something that nobody is doing.
“The aim is to create something a hundred times more original and exciting than all the rubbish that’s been in the charts and music press for the last ten years and to make British music great again” says Richey. You only need to take one look at them in their always-excellent get-up to see the potential. “We just wear what we want to wear but I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to look good, or different from other people,” he replies.
“Image is insanely important” states Rosa. “I was already working with a photographer from my previous band (Amanaboutadog) and one of the first things this band did was get a professional photoshoot with Pete. We wanted to get away from the clichéd photoshoots of sullen band-members outside feckless buildings.”
As you can well tell, we’re dealing here with a band that sees the value in the sonic and the visual; the combination of audio and aesthetics. Once again, this is an absolute rarity these days, with the hordes of careerist clones doing it purely for the corporate dollar and not actually seeing this thing they call music as what it is: a form of expression; an art, if you’ll let me have that one.
The next step for the band is to compliment their excellent visuals by “getting some decent recordings done.” The whole package should then be complete. In the meantime, be sure to catch them in the flesh; an impression will most certainly be left, and it won’t be an impression you’ll forget easily.
Welcome to the world of Monocle Rose. Four immaculately dressed freaks who play the sort of manic shows the usual dullards might only turn in were they to be told they only had half an hour left to live. They speak of ‘Fast Day-Glo Defiance’, mix cherry coke with marmite and cheese into their music, and above else, they want Britain. And that means you….
Rosa and Richey are the toxic twosome that take care of the vocal and guitar duties. Richey takes up the story of how they met. “Rosa and I met last summer when our old bands played on the same bill at the Pleasure Unit. They both broke up by October so we thought it’d be a good idea to get together and write some songs. We found Matt (drums) through friends in February and Teo (bass) has just joined, this’ll be his first gig.”
And what a gig it should be. When the group tread the boards for twenty minutes of clipped, snarling mayhem, it must be said that performance is everything. On guitar, Richey is seemingly switched on at the same mains as his amp and finds it rather difficult to stay still at all, even for a split second. Visually, you are reminded of a young Pete Townsend all punked-up to the nines. Rosa, on the other hand, while being just as lively (if not more) has a tendency to end up rolling around on the floor at the climax of the set; you are then also reminded that bands just don’t put this much into their performances anymore. “Our shows are important because they give people a 20 minute break of dullness,” says Richey. “Playing live is the best bit about being in a band so when we’re up there we go for it.” Rosa also sees the importance of the band’s shows. “Live, we want to make maximum impact,” she says. “Every gig’s a chaotic show!”
The only bands they all truly have in common as influences are “probably just Blondie and The Ramones. We’re all into completely different music.” The carnal sound they make does recall the pop made by both those bands, but as things spiral further and further out of control, you are reminded of the likes of the Banshees, Patti Smith and X-Ray Spex, along with some of the classic sounds of the early 90s – most notably very early-period Manics and the riot-grrrl likes of L7. This, as you can imagine, is a very good thing. And it is something that nobody is doing.
“The aim is to create something a hundred times more original and exciting than all the rubbish that’s been in the charts and music press for the last ten years and to make British music great again” says Richey. You only need to take one look at them in their always-excellent get-up to see the potential. “We just wear what we want to wear but I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to look good, or different from other people,” he replies.
“Image is insanely important” states Rosa. “I was already working with a photographer from my previous band (Amanaboutadog) and one of the first things this band did was get a professional photoshoot with Pete. We wanted to get away from the clichéd photoshoots of sullen band-members outside feckless buildings.”
As you can well tell, we’re dealing here with a band that sees the value in the sonic and the visual; the combination of audio and aesthetics. Once again, this is an absolute rarity these days, with the hordes of careerist clones doing it purely for the corporate dollar and not actually seeing this thing they call music as what it is: a form of expression; an art, if you’ll let me have that one.
The next step for the band is to compliment their excellent visuals by “getting some decent recordings done.” The whole package should then be complete. In the meantime, be sure to catch them in the flesh; an impression will most certainly be left, and it won’t be an impression you’ll forget easily.
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