Mona: Mona

Mona
Mona
Mercury Records [2012]









Fire Note Says: Mona's debut is full of anthem radio friendly numbers that just might grab your ear.

Album Review:
Dayton, OH + Nashville, TN = Part of BBC's Sound of 2011 and NME's Best New Bands of 2010. What? Well that is exactly the back story with Mona. Back in 2005 this group won the Dayton Band Playoffs and ever since have been traveling up the music radar across seas straight from their new hometown of Nashville. This self-titled debut actually was released in the UK almost a year ago but just recently hit the shelves in the States.

You might wonder why the delay here or why such the hype over there but I think we can chalk it up to that is just the way music is sometimes. Mona plays a very anthem radio-friendly style of rock that is easy to grab and walks the line between sounding like the UK's Stereophonics and having a bit of the Southern rock undertone such as Kings Of Leon.

I believe the most appealing part of Mona is that you can hear their hard work in theses 13 tracks that all have a genuine desire pushing them out. This helps carry the record even though the music can sound too familiar and too generic at certain points. That of course does not mean that Mona can't hit you with a big hook as songs like "Lean Into The Fall?" and "Listen To Your Love" can have you humming along in seconds.

Mona may not change the music scene with this debut but it does show some promise and explain why the UK have put them on the map. The band recently was tagged to open for Noel Gallagher's US tour and most certainly will stay on the radar to see if they can grab a bigger following over here. Time will tell and we will be interested to hear where Mona goes next.

Key Tracks: "Lean Into The Fall", "Listen To Your Love", "Taboo Lights"

Bands With Similar Fire:
Stereophonics
Kings Of Leon
Young The Giant

Mona Website
Mona Facebook
Mercury Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony