"Over the past year, we've practiced our asses off and hopefully the results are noticeable to those who have been coming to shows from the start," says singer/keyboardist Nouela Johnston.
Using the 20 hours of free studio time awarded by Sound Off!, Mon Frere recorded their debut release, Real Vampires EP, at Electro Kitty Studios with friend and producer/engineer Blake Wescott (Pedro the Lion, Seldom, the Vogue).
"We're all pretty stoked," drummer David Haasl says about the record's upcoming release. Johnston adds, "I've been excited and anxious about this CD for the last nine months, so I'm more relieved than anything that it's finally coming out."
Real Vampires EP (Smug Life) is an impressive five-track debut. While Johnston's keyboards elevate the poppy, snotty attitude, Haasl's jazz-heavy drumming boasts complete style and control. And Kyle Swisher's dirty guitar riffs pull everything together with impeccable timing. Collectively, the instrumentation makes a perfect accompaniment for Johnston's unapologetic vocal style. She lays it all out with the same fearlessness paraded by other remarkable frontwomen like the Gossip's Beth Ditto and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O. Obviously time has allowed the band to become more comfortable and familiar with one another's abilities.
"We've become more of a family," says Haasl about the band's evolution. "When we write songs, they kind of just come out of us jamming instead of us actually sitting down and painstakingly writing a piece of music. Being in this band keeps getting easier and more fun with time."
Mon Frere's CD release party happens Friday, December 3, at the Vera Project with the Fall of Troy, Schoolyard Heroes, and Kane Hodder. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. and costs $8. MEGAN SELING