Old Monk

If you've known the frustrations of the Long-Distance Relationship (or "LDR" to the initiated), you'll appreciate the gleeful urgency of Old Monk. Its two founding members spent years bouncing their dreams and mp3s across the continent. Lucky for all of us, they didn't give up; instead, they united in Brooklyn, found a bassist and recorded their first album, Birds of Belize. Set to release digitally any day now, the album is a scruffy, melody-crammed love-in that fondly recalls Guided by Voices and the Lemonheads. Plus there's a song called "Napoleon's Wife," and who knows LDRs better than her? The members of Old Monk come close, but now they're together. Come to Union Hall and share the love. - Beacon Pass

Old Monk start us off. The Brooklyn indie three piece are readying to drop their first album, Birds of Belize, in February through Supermartyr Records, and its a very very good release that demands your attention. Simply put, Old Monk are a band that offer up concise cuts of aggressive indie pop, using cultural touchstones as varied as Cassius Clay and Thomas Pynchon to give us a skewed narrative of the world they, and we, live in. Its intriguing, beguiling, arresting, but overall joyous in its overt exuberance and penchant for the shiniest of guitar pop hooks. Modest Mouse via Superchunk? I think we're onto a winner here... - Sonic Masala

I’m not in a very chatty mood tonight, but just fancy bashing out a few posts, because I’ve been sent a surprisingly high amount of great tunes this week….

Anway this is a band from…lemme just check….Brooklyn! Quelle surprise, does Brooklyn have like key workers and stuff, or is EVERYONE in bands? Anyway, if the tunes are this good, I may move there…..and probably start a band. It’s a vicious circle. Anyway Old Monk, from Brooklyn, Butter & Toast reminds me of about 4 songs, some, many or few may in fact be by Vampire Weekend. And The Hold Steady. And who was that band that had the song “Is it safe to say, C’mon C’mon” Jack White beat the shit out of the singer? Well them. - And Everyones a DJ

Brooklyn’s Old Monk are going to be releasing their debut album “Bird of Belize” physically on February 22 although you can get it now on Amazon and iTunes. The most obvious comparison that comes to mind are to Pavement given that Joshua Carrafa’s are very similar to that of Stephen Malkmus. Though that can easily end there as the band fall less towards the fuzz rock with the crazy time signatures of math rock and a more prominent post-punk influence. - JPs Blog

In many ways, Birds of Belize is very understated: The lo-fi aesthetic takes the focus off of individual parts, and sometimes muffles Carrafa’s vocals. You have to listen carefully to catch the myriad of obscure and literary references checked, from Cassius Clay to Mary Shelly to Scottish beer. - Bushwick Bk

Whether you lived through college rock of the early ’90s or just happen to own the better part of the Creation Records catalogue from 20 years ago, your ears probably will recognize Old Monk’s guitar chug and they will probably like it. Old Monk have a their debut LP out in February. - Bushwick Bk

Old Monk is a trio of hard rockers that delights in surprising musical twists. They sit on the fence somewhere between punk, garage, and indie rock, and like their heavier brethren they change suddenly between all sorts of weird time changes and chord progressions, but always with head-banging fluidity. Bassist Tsugumi Takashi kept the beat with simple, effective bass lines while Ian Burns banged out bar after bar of crazily fast drum parts and Joshua Carrafa switched fluently between destroying his guitar strings with fast-picked chords, and complex, distortion-fueled riffs, all while singing disarmingly sweet melodies. Their set was totally enjoyable. If you like things on the harder side, but with carefully crafted pop melodies, check these guys out. - Best New Bands

Exceptional drumming and creative licks create this band playing out of Brooklyn, New York. Their sound is captivating and extremely catchy. They are currently working on their debt album which we have high expectations and I truly believe the young band from New York will follow through.

Don't be fooled by titles; Old Monk does not fall under your everyday garage sound the vocals Old Monk has vocals which are melodic and well delivered; they flow together extremely well.

Anyways, great new band coming out Brooklyn... check it out. - The Daily Concsiousness

Old Monk started out as an internet collaboration between guitarist/vocalist Joshua Carrafa and drummer Ian Burns. The band came together in Brooklyn, picked up PINE*am's Tsugumi Takashi on bass and recorded their debut EP. The band has been getting some strong press and they are currently working on their debut full-length. - Brooklyn Rocks

The sound is a bit subpar on this video (darn those cell phone mikes!) but the material is top notch from this indie band out of Brooklyn. Plus, they have a new member. (The cute one.) - WXRT Radio

This week’s track comes from trio Old Monk, who got their start swapping recordings via the internet before the two founding members both ended up in Brooklyn. We’re not really for gimmicks, but if your band has a song called “Butter and Toast,” we’re at least going to give it a listen.

The intro suggests something psychedelic, but slides into a choppy rock blast. The opening flourish catches your attention, but the body of the song is just a fine piece of guitar pop. This is definitely one for fans of certain ’90s Glaswegian guitar bands, right down to the vocals. Old Monk have an EP featuring “Butter and Toast” free for download on their website. They’re currently working on an LP that we’ll be keeping an eye out for. - Bushwick Bk

I know nothing about them but this: (a) they appear to be from Brooklyn, provincial home of the coolest people none of us know personally, (b) the song that they sent to me, “Warm Moustache” makes me deeply happy, (c) they spell “moustache” the same way that I prefer to - Citizen Dick