MONROE MUSTANG Digitally Reissue First And Third Records

Somehow ahead of and behind the times all at once, Monroe Mustang’s debut album “Plain Sweeping Themes For The Unprepared”, has been reincarnated for the digital age by Jagjaguwar. One of the most underrated albums released by Austin’s Trance Syndicate/Emperor Jones recording conglomerate, the original home of the Mustang’s slo-fi sympathizers Bedhead and American Analog Set. Monroe Mustang uses home recordings to evoke a timeless brand of melodic songsmithery that’s as easy to imbibe then as it is now. The band that time forgot: Brian Barry, Taylor Holland, Christopher Linnen, Michael Linnen, and Jason Stout, share singing and songwriting duties while rotating instruments – both onstage and in their backyard studio. This is headphone music for aficionados of adventurous, woozy, classic rock and the space where pop veers toward the strange. An excellent antidote for hurting heads. Best administered when somnambulant sounds are most desired.

Also reissued is Monroe’s Iced-over and left for dead second release on Austin’s Trance Syndicate/Emperor Jones recording conglomerate. All five members, Brian Barry, Taylor Holland, Christopher Linnen, Michael Linnen, and Jason Stout, share singing and songwriting duties while rotating instruments — both onstage and in their home studio. Originally conceived as a concept album, each band member wrote, recorded, and produced their own song for this 5 song E.P. An odd collection that highlights the propensities of each of the Mustangs, veering from lo-fi-new-wave, to acoustic dirge, to sublime pop.