Mono Sideboards
Haunting in its melancholic beauty, Getintothis’ Paul Higham is wowed by the intriguing new track from Mono Sideboards that offers much more than evocative nostalgia.
From the ashes of Secret Garden Gathering have risen Mono Sideboards whose freshly revealed track, For Laura, For The Morning, offers a tantalising glimpse of the treasures in store when the band release their album, The Pains of Being Frank Lamb, later in the year.
The song hits its stride straight away with a big yet delicate enveloping sound that wraps around the listener. It has a classic, almost-americana feel, not dissimilar to the unsettling moods the likes of Tindersticks so excel at.
Barely there vocals, breathlessly delivered, creep in almost underneath the music. It lends the whole track an atmospheric quality and a brooding intent amid a broad sonic soundscape that, at times, recalls the scarred intimacy of The National.
The track features backing vocals by Liverpool-based artist Kylee Beencke that deliciously weave in and out of the main vocal track culminating in a harmony that provides the song its sonic peaks and heightens its immediacy.
The below video captures the mood of the song perfectly as a montage of archival footage nostalgically evokes the feel of small-town America. The track itself is more than nostalgic fodder. The mid-section contains sampled dialogue from an old movie dialogue that hints at police corruption.
The barbed “He owns the police” reminds that the past had its own troubles as we remain painfully aware that corruption and establishment are not the relic of a bygone age but an altogether modern complaint.
Released out of the blue and fully-formed, For Laura, For The Morning is a remarkable achievement. Like all the best in life it leaves you wanting more. Bring on the album.
