Studio 52 is a community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community.
Ask anyone who knows their shit about Boston rock and roll will tell you that garage-punk lords The Monsieurs are one of the best — if not the best — live bands around town. From the clubs to the basements to that cute boy riding the T with some bloody hellparade noise blaring from his earbuds, the proof is in the pudding… if you spiked that pudding with the wild fire of powderkeg frontman extraordinaire Andy “California” Macbain.
But of course even The Monsieurs face that age-old struggle of a band capturing that live vibe on record, and Friday (December 1) they unleash to the world their latest effort in the no-pause cause with Deux, their sophomore album issued by Black Gladiator/Slovenly Records. Later that night, they birth the beast right there on stage for the record release party at Great Scott in Allston, an Illegally Blind Presents bash with fellow guitar-licking noisemakers Nice Guys and one-time Great Scott house band Earthquake Party.
So how does a band capture that pure energy? By keeping true to the roots of its soul.
“[Andy] just has us do as much as we can live and then blows it out distortion wise so it sounds like you are standing next to an amp versus worrying about hearing everything perfectly in a mix,” says Monsieurs guitarist and real-life superhero Hilken Mancini. “One of the reasons I loved Tunnel Of Love songs (Andy’s first band) when I heard them recorded was that you felt like that — like you were almost hearing them live. But Andy just produced stuff to sound like it was live and happening right then and there so when you heard it you would stop and want to know what was playing — or at least I always felt that way.”
Boston does, too.
In advance of Deux’s release, check out a few teaser tracks below — head’s up, your mother once warned you about songs like “Burning Flame” — and hit up Great Scott Friday night to blast out the whole jam.
Featured Monsieurs photo by Nora Allen Wiles.
