Future Monarchs:
Weird Weather:
Lojinx:
Out Now:
7/10
Recently installed as support for Brendan Benson on his summer tour, it can only be a small matter of time before label-mates Future Monarchs are headlining their own jaunts with a proper full-length album in tow. For now though, they're offering six indie-pop tasters in the form of their debut EP, Weird Weather.
Older readers might remember Jellyfish and Wilco, while younger browsers might appreciate references to MGMT and Electric Soft Parade - either way, Future Monarchs seem capable of knocking out harmonious jingle-jangle that's suitable for most tastes, providing they don't require anything too challenging. From the opening memorable Evil Art, past the agreeable and already downloadable The Bells to the last brief Beatles-esque Lydia, Weird Weather sounds at times familiar as well as established - many bands recording and issuing a debut would like to be half as good as this.
While none of the songs leap out of the speakers and grab you by the privates, all of them trickle into your ears like soothing honey, without being twee or irksome. Rather than doing what many American groups seem to do - don the cap of buffoonery and scream that 'life sucks' and 'your mom's an asshole' - Future Monarchs have already matured fast and eased into, what appears to be, a snug fit of crafted melodies and no-nonsense delivery. I'd keep an eye out for this lot, if I were you - they may well be the future kings of grown-up pop.