Free Download "Butter and Toast" and "Warm Moustache", songs from Birds of Belize, are available as a free download from Bandcamp, courtesy of Eenie Meenie Records.
Read More Birds of Belize is the debut album from New York's Old Monk (can I just guess that they're based out of Brooklyn as well?). The album is coming out January 17th, and I am told that the pressed yellow vinyl will come with a download code of the album, plus three bonus tracks ("Monocle", "Class A Stock", "Tartan Lingerie")
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What do you get when you cross the jaded affectation and unbalanced tempo of 90s-era Pavement with the energy of pop punk and the attention span of an ADD-inflicted toddler? Brooklyn’s Old Monk attempt to answer that question with their debut full-length release, Birds of Belize. At just under 40-minutes, the album is a quick fix for the twitchy music addict who’s jonesin’ for something fast, jumbled, and a touch miffed. It’s not an easy listen, as the band seems determined to wreak havoc on your central nervous system. But the payoff’s worth the risk of a few involuntary spasms (some people call this “dancing”). Birds of Belize is exciting, fresh, and like any successful bender, leaves its listener wanting more.
It’s worth mentioning that singer Josh Carrafa doesn’t have a typical artist’s “day job”; he’s a practicing lawyer, and up until about a year ago, his specialty was multi-million dollar divorce suits. Once can’t help making a connection between this high-profile—presumably highly stressful—career and Carrafa’s proclivity for frantic, madcap rock music. We’ve all seen some version of this story: powerful, wealthy, unhappy executive seeks to escape his repressed lifestyle via drugs, anonymous sex, and/or listening to moderately upbeat 80s pop music while chopping a colleague into tiny pieces. Perhaps Old Monk is Carrafa’sescape, which is not unheard of and surely healthier than a homicidal preoccupation with “Sussudio”*. At the very least, he acknowledges how these experiences in law may have shaped—and continue to influence—his songwriting; as he articulates “there’s certainly a lot of tension and emotion in divorce law, so that is always an interesting energy to drive creativity.”
To really listen to Birds of Belize is to realize that this is a labor of love. Carrafa and bandmate Ian Burns pen songs that drip with odd nuances, at once mysterious and close to home. Their prose reads like a well-worn journal full of academic references to Europa and Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son, casually viewed through the lens of someone who’s still searching for meaning in the trivial details of life. If that sounds like a heap of pretentious poo, don’t worry—the duo has a sense of humor. Take “Warm Moustache,” a tongue-in-cheek (and pretty accurate) critique of the cool kids that fill the streets of their gentrified neighborhoods: “The band keeps changing its name to what everyone’s saying / and they really hate the new one / you think you’re Pynchon / but you’re just Bedford and seventh.” When they're not biting the hands that feed them, Old Monk is busy obliterating eardrums. Birds of Belize is loud, and from what I hear, the band has no problem cranking the volume “up to eleven” at their live shows. Consider yourself warned.
Birds of Belize was released in January. You can order the album via EenieMeenie Records; or, if you want a little taste before committing to album ownership, listen to three tracks at Soundcloud, including the aforementioned “Warm Moustache.” For more information, visit Old Monk’s official website and Facebook page. The band is currently playing a weekly residency at the Cake Shop, NYC, so if you’re in the area, check them out! (But maybe bring a pair of earplugs, just in case you’re able to repress the embarrassment of wearing earplugs.)
*Of course, no one is insinuating that Josh Carrafa is a real-life musical Patrick Bateman. I just want to be clear: this man does not murder people. Although, that would be an interesting twist on a familiar plot: seemingly innocuous indie musician who exorcises his demons by figuratively and literally rocking his audience to death. Josh, you work in intellectual property now, how easy would it be to patent this idea?
It’s worth mentioning that singer Josh Carrafa doesn’t have a typical artist’s “day job”; he’s a practicing lawyer, and up until about a year ago, his specialty was multi-million dollar divorce suits. Once can’t help making a connection between this high-profile—presumably highly stressful—career and Carrafa’s proclivity for frantic, madcap rock music. We’ve all seen some version of this story: powerful, wealthy, unhappy executive seeks to escape his repressed lifestyle via drugs, anonymous sex, and/or listening to moderately upbeat 80s pop music while chopping a colleague into tiny pieces. Perhaps Old Monk is Carrafa’sescape, which is not unheard of and surely healthier than a homicidal preoccupation with “Sussudio”*. At the very least, he acknowledges how these experiences in law may have shaped—and continue to influence—his songwriting; as he articulates “there’s certainly a lot of tension and emotion in divorce law, so that is always an interesting energy to drive creativity.”
To really listen to Birds of Belize is to realize that this is a labor of love. Carrafa and bandmate Ian Burns pen songs that drip with odd nuances, at once mysterious and close to home. Their prose reads like a well-worn journal full of academic references to Europa and Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son, casually viewed through the lens of someone who’s still searching for meaning in the trivial details of life. If that sounds like a heap of pretentious poo, don’t worry—the duo has a sense of humor. Take “Warm Moustache,” a tongue-in-cheek (and pretty accurate) critique of the cool kids that fill the streets of their gentrified neighborhoods: “The band keeps changing its name to what everyone’s saying / and they really hate the new one / you think you’re Pynchon / but you’re just Bedford and seventh.” When they're not biting the hands that feed them, Old Monk is busy obliterating eardrums. Birds of Belize is loud, and from what I hear, the band has no problem cranking the volume “up to eleven” at their live shows. Consider yourself warned.
Birds of Belize was released in January. You can order the album via EenieMeenie Records; or, if you want a little taste before committing to album ownership, listen to three tracks at Soundcloud, including the aforementioned “Warm Moustache.” For more information, visit Old Monk’s official website and Facebook page. The band is currently playing a weekly residency at the Cake Shop, NYC, so if you’re in the area, check them out! (But maybe bring a pair of earplugs, just in case you’re able to repress the embarrassment of wearing earplugs.)
*Of course, no one is insinuating that Josh Carrafa is a real-life musical Patrick Bateman. I just want to be clear: this man does not murder people. Although, that would be an interesting twist on a familiar plot: seemingly innocuous indie musician who exorcises his demons by figuratively and literally rocking his audience to death. Josh, you work in intellectual property now, how easy would it be to patent this idea?
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