Shadow Monster

Rounding Out The Top 25
#11. Coco Verde (22 shows)

#12. eCOCOBOYS (22 shows)

#13. New Myths (21 shows)

#14. Native Sun (20 shows)

#15. Desert Sharks (20 shows)

#16. Long Neck (20 shows)

#17. Ryley Walker (19 shows)

#18. Daddies (19 shows)

#19. Shadow Monster (18 shows)

#20. Bad Kiss (18 shows)

#21. Water From Your Eyes (17 shows)

#22. Miranda and the Beat (17 shows)

#24. The Advertisers (17 shows)

#25. Lola Pistola (17 shows) - Oh My Rockness

The Bushwick duet Shadow Monster played next is also a stripped down guitar/drum duo, in this case their roles are reversed and producing a very different zeal. Guitarist and vocalist Gillian Visco crafts some tasty riffs and has oodles of great lyrics about depression and angst that pairs nicely with some driving drum work by John Swanson that produces another kind of 90’s sound, one much more firmly rooted in growling grunge rock styling of Hole and Bratmobile with a bit of the Sonic Youth artsy swank. Their second album Punching Bag just got recently released and feels like it would be great breakup music to smash some shit to. - Pancakes and Whiskey

Holy hell today is the day! I am beyond thrilled and honored to share this new album from Brooklyn-based indie duo Shadow Monster. The new album Punching Bag follows what is honestly an epic music video and lead single of the album, and is out today on Dadstache Records.

With Sonic Youth-influenced guitars and a strong narrative of strength throughout heartbreak, Punching Bag is the album that we all needed after that first breakup. Hell, I still need this album now.

Backed by drummer John Swanson, guitarist and vocalist Gillian Visco channels heavy and honest emotions a grunge heavy (and moshable) guitar. It’s No Doubt “Tragic Kingdom’ for the gritty, sad girls of Brooklyn.

Mixed and Mastered by Brian Speaker at Speakersonic, listen to Punching Bag below and celebrate their release October 24th in Brooklyn. - Left Bank Magazine

Shadow Monster have been kicking around the Brooklyn DIY scene for a while now, and on 10/11 they’ll be releasing their second album, Punching Bag, via Dadstache Records. The duo of vocalist/guitarist Gillian Visco and drummer John Swanson play a garagey flavor of moody grunge that dips and dives between eerie slow-burners and bombastic pop crushers. The record’s second single “Temporary Love,” which we’re premiering below, falls into the latter category.

Over a Third Eye Blind-esque groove, the guitars switch between rattly acoustic strums and dirty blasts of crunchy distortion, as Visco sings with a melancholy rasp about “watching someone you love love somebody else.” It’s a total jumper of a track and Swanson adds some terrific, rolling fills into the final breakdown that translate the head-spinning subject matter into music. Fans of Dude York, Weakened Friends, and Hole will enjoy.

Stream it below: - The Alternative

I’m a sucker for singles; I get songs stuck way inside my head, like the latest single from Brooklyn’s Shadow Monster. For a two piece, this tune packs a lot of punch, a combination of the distortion ringing out from Gillian Visco’s guitar and the crashing cymbal (and fill) work put down by drummer John Swanson. Visco has this softness to her voice, also present in the guitar notes beneath the first layer of fuzz; it builds this slow moving tension, moving back and forth like a pendulum of impending release. Just at the two minute mark we get that glorious emotional release (somehow it sent me down a Get Up Kids wormhole), but it’s a glorious way to close out with some cacophony. The band will release their album Punching Bag via Dadstache Records on October 11th.

They’ll be celebrating the release of this new single at Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn on 9/4. - Austin Town Hall

ast week, Left Bank had the pleasure of premiering the new album from Shadow Monster—an angsty and loud two-piece from Bushwick, Brooklyn. Lyrically, Shadow Monster explores themes of loss, depression, and isolation, so naturally, I wanted to dig into the music (and their minds) a bit more.

I’ve run into Gillian a few times in the ‘Brooklyn scene’ and her aura has always captured me—she’s lovely, but has a darkness to her that you can’t ignore. So, I asked her a few questions about her band, her music, and her parents.

Tell us, how did Shadow Monster come about? And when?

Gillian Visco: Shadow Monster is a moniker I started using in 2012 after many years of playing music solo under my own name. In the summer of 2017, John [Swanson] and I started playing together, which took the songs to another level. John helped me find that sound and vibe that I had been chasing for so long.

Is Shadow Monster a concept, an idea, a portrayal of an aspect of your personality?

Yes. Shadow Monster is definitely an outlet for a certain aspect of my personality. Carl Jung’s definition of the shadow is the unknown dark side of the self that exists in our subconscious mind. It represents the least desirable aspects of our personality, the parts of ourselves that we reject or suppress. The shadow in Freudian psychology is similar to the Id, which represents our innate animalistic impulses and desires. A lot of my inspiration comes from grappling with the human condition through my personal human experience. Through this project, I am able to explore these ideas and exorcise the demons I carry around with me.

Carl Jung’s definition of the shadow is the unknown dark side of the self that exists in our subconscious mind. It represents the least desirable aspects of our personality, the parts of ourselves that we reject or suppress.

How did you come up with the name?

John and I used to play in a band called Photon Dynamo and the Shiny Pieces with Frank Rathbone. One day I was recording demos for Residual Ghost in John and Frank’s bathroom while they were hanging in the living room with some friends. Every time I came out to take a break, one of our friends would freak out cuz she kept forgetting I was in there. She kept saying “you’re like the closet monster!” For whatever reason, there was a ring to that that I liked and I kept it rolling around my head for a while. Then Frank and I had a conversation about the shadow and I knew that was it. I had been waiting for years to find the right name.

Does New York influence the music that you make, or do you think that it exists outside of any one place?

I moved to New York in 2007 so by default a lot of the songs have New York weaved within them. On this album, Kill Me Sweetie really feels like a New York song to me. But I would hope that whether you know New York or not, it can still be relatable. I’m a huge fan of the way artists like Elliott Smith and Conor Oberst use the specificities about the cities they were writing from, in their songs.

Tell us about your new album — and I want to hear EVERYTHING!

We are so excited about this album. John and I recorded it ourselves in John’s room. I had just lost my job and we spent every day working on this thing. We recorded the songs so many times through the trial and error of finding the best sound we could. We’d be working all day, all night, friends would come through, we’d chill with people in between recording, play them what we were working on. Sometimes we’d stop recording and just jam with whoever came over. I feel like so many people’s energies were translated into the album because of that. When we were tracking the vocals for This Dead Thing, I was hitting a wall and we decided to take a break. We went outside and chilled with some people in the backyard. Without even discussing it, we all proceeded to clean the entire backyard. I’m talking pulling weeds, tilling the soil, for hours we did manual yard work and created a BONFIRE that was taller than us – out of all the weeds, twigs, and branches. We lit it, stood there and watched it burn down. Then we went back inside and got the vocal take. That is my favorite memory of recording this album. It was a really weird and cool way of making something.

Once we decided we did the best we could, we took our tracks over to Brian Speaker (speakersonic.com) who just made magic out of them. That was the magical next step of the process – being able to hear these janky songs in Brian’s studio as he mixed it properly. It was then that it started to feel like a real album and we started to get really excited.

Once we had the album finished, I started looking for a label that would be a good fit for it. Dadstache Records (dadstacherecords.com) ended up becoming a perfect home for Punching Bag and we have had a blast working with JT Fitzgerald on every aspect of the release.

And then there’s that whole other part of the album… the inspiration behind it. Punching Bag is a true breakup album. I wrote these songs during a really dark period of my life. A time where I truly felt disconnected from myself and the world around me. A time where I felt I lost the love of my life and that I would never heal. A time that I genuinely could not see past.

Our music video for the title track was directed and shot by Luke Carr (lukecarr.com) at one of our favorite house venues Hartstop. (hartstopbk.com) Our cover art was done by Alexander Glueck (@stoic_dedboi)

Any upcoming shows?

Yes! We have two really special ones coming up. Thursday, Oct 24 is our RELEASE PARTY at The Gutter with faves: Darkwing, QWAM, and Lily Mao. Here, we will have Punching Bag on tangible cassette tapes! We’ll also have a zine of poetry called the panic and the dread to accompany the album. On November 1 we are playing at The Broadway to celebrate Retail’s Vinyl release for their album, Dead. Retail is one of my favorite local bands and the lineup for this show is pretty stacked: Gustaf, Lola Pistola, Sic Tic. I’m also in the process of concocting a special one for December so stay tuned!

If you could play anywhere in the world, where would you?

This is a hard question and I’m surprised by how stumped I am by it. I guess I’d love to play inside of a cave or on a mountain if a venue like that exists. Or on SNL. Or anywhere that Conor Oberst is headlining. Maybe inside of a cave opening for Conor Oberst. That would be a dream haha.

Do your parents like your music?

I love this question. My mom definitely wishes I played ‘happier songs.’ Fuzz and distortion are not exactly her cup of tea. Our taste in music is really different. But she does have a favorite song of mine and its close to 1 million years old by now, but its called You Are A Mountain, which is from back when I played under my own name, and I think she wishes I would write more like that… hahaha. She definitely doesn’t like seeing me thrash around onstage either, but she’s been telling me to stop headbanging and playing air-guitar in public since I was 8 years old, so nothing has changed there. My dad was a rock and roller at heart, he was a brilliant piano player and we shared an incredible bond when it came to music, so I hope he liked our music but I don’t really know. I think there will always be a generation gap with parents. Regardless of liking it, they’ve always supported me in going after whatever vision I had in my head, which I love them for. And we can always agree on The Beatles.

Favorite line in a song (not necessarily yours) that has always stuck with you

“What a beautiful face I have found in this place that is circling all ’round the sun. What a beautiful dream that could flash on the screen in a blink of an eye and be gone from me. Soft and sweet, let me hold it close and keep it here with me.”

–In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel, 1998.

This song and album is a pure masterpiece.

Anything you want to complete before the year ends, or are you ready to get to 2020?

Tour ! We’re planning to hit the east coast before the year is out and share this album with some new people. Also very much looking forward to Halloween, my favorite holiday.

Listen to their new album below, and catch them at the release party, event details here - High Street Disco

After a series of bedroom recordings from her basement in New Jersey, Shadow Monster presents her first studio release. Residual Ghost is a collaboration made with such great Brooklyn producers as the late Jim Bentley. It is due out April 29.

Shadow Monster takes an ambitious and creative approach by utilizing her passion for film and modern dance to produce a series of music videos set to the soundtrack of the singles.

Stream Driftwood on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Take a sneak peak into the making of the next video: - Hellhound Music

Sometimes, you have to rise from the ashes. “Jersey bred and Brooklyn based” musician Gillian Visco knows that all too well, after her band Photon Dynamo and the Shiny Pieces fell apart by cause of members skipping town, and a sudden death.

“Out Of My Mind is the second single from Residual Ghost, an album about isolation, loss, and the ever-present aftershock echoing from traumatic memories. Out Of My Mind specifically explores the demons that live inside of us as a result.”

These days, the songstress goes by shadow monster and has put together an album titled Residual Ghost, that she calls a “memoir of sorts”. If you’re ready to see what the songs have to offer, wait no longer. We’re premiering the video for the second single from the collection, “Out Of My Mind”, below. - Idobi Radio

Arguably my favorite time of the year is June when I roam the streets of Brooklyn for the annual Northside Festival. During the lead up to Northside, I came across Shadow Monster & loved everything I heard. It was fitting that my 2016 run would start by seeing Shadow Monster play at Pete’s Candy Store which is one of my favorite venues in NYC.

Gillian’s set began with Love Is Terrible. After this one song, I was already super impressed and knew only great things were to come which I was completely right about.
While I really enjoyed every song of the set, a few definitely stood out the most to me including my personal favorite Reject which I could never get sick of hearing or seeing it! Some other standouts included Creep In The Corner & the Future Islands cover of City By The Sea which absolutely blew me away!
​
The actual vocal & instrument performance was top notch even with the few soundboard issues that arose but managed not to take away from the magical experience of Shadow Monster.
I have definitely found a new artist to obsess over & hopefully catch as many times live as possible. If you give Shadow Monster a listen, I have a feeling you will be joining me on that bandwagon! - Indie Music Review

Shadow Monster is Gillian Visco, a singer/songwriter based in Brooklyn. We loved her song “Out of my Mind”, a melodic rock ballad, so we didn’t want to miss her Northside showcase at the tiny stage of Pete’s Candy Store. There she played a quieter set solo, just on the electric guitar. Stay tuned for some new music by her soon. - Glamglare