Wednesday, August 11, 2010

You have to give it up to Austin’s own Monahans.  After releasing the majestic Dim The Aurora (one of my favorite albums of 2009), the band has continued to churn out evocative and beautifully atmospheric tunes.  Currently, they're in the middle of Monahans 2010 Recordings, which is a project to release one free song a month for 10 straight months (through the end of the year).

The inspiration for the project was a road trip in the Fall of 2009. The band loaded up their instruments and recording equipment and headed to an isolated hunting cabin in West Texas (see video below for clips from the trip).  Monohans' songs have always been mood music, evoking picturesque country roads or rocky landscapes (not surprising considering they’re named after a desolate area of West Texas), so the trip out of the city and in to the country was a good way for them to get their creative juices stirring.  I'd say it worked out well.  Below you'll find my three favorite tracks from the project so far.

:Monahans - All In Love:

:Monahans - Quell:

:Monahans - We Tremble:

By the way, if you like these songs you should check out Shady Valley - B-Sides and Demos (1999-2005) by Milton Mapes, the band from which Monahans was formed.  You can also see them live on September 23 at The Parish with Film School and TV Torso.

Monahans Recording Footage
 

Dan Corbin also writes for a blog called DC Rock Club.  If you would like to contact him in regards to his writings here at Side One: Track One then please do so here.

- Dan Corbin -



Unless otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by John Laird under a Creative Commons License.