Formed in July 2013, The Mona Lisa’s are a five piece from Ballingry intent on bursting out of The Kingdom of Fife and taking their tunes to the masses. Led by the powerful lyrics and vocals of front-man Kevin Murphy Jnr, the band also includes Blair Dow and Ally Galloway on guitars, Arran ‘Finch’ Graham on bass and Cameron Gaudin Jnr hammering the drums. Intrigued by their name (including the incorrect and deliberate use of an apostrophe), the band first came to my attention last year when I heard the in-yer-face ‘Wasted Time’.
Latest E.P ID/Ego/Superego continues to define the sound of The Mona Lisa’s and, as the the drums and guitars open the EP at break-neck speed, you know straightaway this is going to be great and – by the time Murphy Jnr belts out “Falling for a stranger,fear my life’s in danger – all I want is what I can’t have” – I am left in no doubt this is music to my liking!
By the end of first track ‘Falling For A Stranger’ , the music somewhat resembles The Strokes on speed. However, after this deduction, second track ‘Anxiety’ catches me somewhat off-guard and – after a few listens – it would definitely seem to be stand-out moment on the E.P, showcasing both Murphy Jnr’s emotive lyrics and strong vocal perfectly.
The concept of the E.P revolves around Freud’s psychoanalytic theory implying the human personality develops through the different stages of ‘id, ego and superego’ throughout our lives. Third track, ‘Lost Control’, appears to head full-on into the superego phase as Murphy Jnr bellows “I’ve got a fever, and I’m never gonna let it go”. Final track ‘Soldier’ slows the pace down, only to build it up to a climatic finale and, once again, I am singing along at the top of my lungs and feeling ready to take on the world.
Make no mistake, this is not solely about Murphy Jnr and – with the powerful music alongside the vocals – it all comes together for The Mona Lisa’s on this E.P. With songs like these, all the king’s men will struggle to keep these guys contained to the Kingdom of Fife!
ID/Ego/Superego is out now and you can find more information on The Mona Lisa’s here.
Bazza Mills
@bazzamills
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