Music of the Day, 3 November 2024
so groovalicious
Yesterday a friend shared a song with me that sounded both deeply familiar and new. It set me to wondering how I could have missed it back in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s.
It turns out the band wasn’t a thing back then … because none of the musicians were alive. But check this out1 and tell me if it doesn’t transport you back a few decades:
“In Your Brain” is the title track from the Monophonics’ 2012 album. If you’ve been reading this ‘Stack for a while, you almost certainly know why I’m featuring it.2 The listener goes on a familiar and fresh funky journey in this tune. The only downside for me is that the vocals at the end don’t really do justice to that element of the Monophonics’ terrific sound.
The band describes their music as “psychedelic soul,” and I can’t argue with that. From the few tracks I’ve listened to from In Your Brain, it might have more funk than other albums. Poor me: I’ll just have to listen to more to gauge the truth of that statement. I’m not ready to tear myself away from “In Your Brain” just yet, though: between the organ (Kelly Finnigan), guitar (Ian McDonald), baritone sax (Alex Baky), and trumpet (Ryan Scott), it is irresistible.
The Monophonics3 formed in 2005 in the San Francisco Bay region and have released six studio albums so far. How is this band not more widely known? If I were a more snarky oldster, I’d be tempted to argue that the music is too complex to be popular these days. Or maybe it’s because their sound doesn’t fit the algorithms that drive recommendations.
They seem to perform live regularly and also go out on regional tours, so they do have a following. I think the Monophonics would be more popular if their music had wider exposure. What do you think?
this isn’t the song my friend shared with me; after hearing it yesterday, I absolutely had to find more of their music. I’m still at that and have yet to find a track I don’t like
there are so many reasons that I’d bet even new readers could get at least one
for more information, see Discogs, Allmusic, their YouTube channel, and Bandcamp
Kelly Finnegan's 2019 solo LP, 'The Tales People Tell,' is a stunning album as well.
Wow, I didn’t realize that Monophonics had been around so long! Their last two albums both made my top 25 list but I’ve never gone back further in their catalog. Thanks for putting them back on my radar.