Rare Monk are another American underground
entity beginning to surface here in the UK. They hail from Portland, Oregon and
produce a sparky mix of love from the late 90s alternative era with a splash of
psych-rock in a way that makes it hard to place them in a specific genre. As
frontman Dorian Aites describes it, “Although we draw upon many genres for
inspiration, we’ve been creating our own thing based on nothing other than the
idea that, ‘these are the songs we wrote cause they sound cool’”.
The psychedelic, giddy pop five-piece have already
knocked up a self-released EP, ‘Death By Proxy’. The thrill of the title track
and the funky, decorated, slow burner of ‘Underground’ seem to act as the bands
default and as a base for bigger things. The steady percussion, racy guitar and
vocal harmonies give the band a unique sound that sonically leaves the heart
yearning for more.
In 2014, Rare Monk will release a limited edition 7”
AA-side single (‘Splice’ and ‘Sleep/Attack’) via B3SCI Records which is
available for pre-order now. ‘Splice’ follows the slow-burner mould but has a
vicious, thunderous blow-out which abandons all expectations to deliver
straight passion.
For fans of // Minus The Bear, Akron/Family and Of Montreal