Review: New Monarchs, Electrocaching

New Monarchs

Electrocaching

B

The exhaustive refrain featured in two of the songs off Electrocaching goes: “I am searching for a message in the electric sounds that are running through my head.” As I listened to this line as it was repeated over and over again, I couldn’t help but think, “gee, New Monarchs, me too, what exactly does your music mean?” It’s not that Electrocaching isn’t potentially enjoyable – if you like light, Postal Service-esque synthesized beats and melancholy lyrics, perhaps you’ll like the New Monarchs. However, the only message I could find between their electric sounds is that the New Monarchs are two sad guys from Minneapolis who like to play with synthesizers when they’re bored. In the song “Six or 12” they sing, “five years of spinning LPs at these parties and I’m still waiting,” as if to suggest that they are still waiting to find their collective voice. They seem to have good musical potential, but they haven’t yet created a strong enough sound that will set them apart from other electronic duos or bands. Each song off Electrocaching gives off too much of the same sound, and none of the songs seem to be able to stand on their own. Their best attempt, in my opinion, is the title song, Electrocaching, as it seems to be their most “catchy” song, however, the New Monarchs have yet to prove just how “Electro-ca[t]ching” they can be.

-- Elena Solli
Host, "Fun Dip and Cherry Coke," Thursdays 10 pm - 12 AM on WGTB