Jam Bands Edition: Monarch, Blesst Chest And Sir Robin & The Longbowmen
By Aaron Stein Sep 7, 2016 • 8:31 am PDT
Monarch: Two Isles
While I hope all the RecommNeds feature music that JamBase readers would enjoy, I rarely feature honest-to-goodness jam bands here. Well, after finally recovering from Lockn’, figured I could give it a try. Maybe these groups would balk at being called jam bands, but … well, take Monarch. The Southern California band has a new album, Two Isles, out on the do-no-wrong El Paraiso label and it’s a jammer’s delight top to bottom. Sounding something like the love child of The Allmans and Yes, they’ve got plenty of awesome two-guitar outcroppings and proggy explosions.
Blesst Chest: Wish We Were There
For something a little heavier, but no less exploratory, check out Blesst Chest. The Portland-based trio take the guitar-bass-drums sound to its natural extremes on their newest, Wish We Were There. Playing all instrumental music that (to me) draws sounds inspired by the likes of both Zeppelin and Zappa, the album bounces from one hardrock/psych/prog “F$%# yeah!” moment to the next (with some bloody excellent song titles, taboot). It has the free-form energy of a live show and makes me wonder longingly what it would be like to experience a Blesst Chest concert.
Sir Robin & The Longbowmen: Sir Robin & The Longbowmen
Sir Robin & The Longbowmen have a band name that is almost a perfect specimen for the #fakejambands collection. But, lo! They are real: a seven-piece exploratory psych-rock outfit out of Dresden, Germany. With vintage instruments including a sitar, the group packs plenty of musical ideas, old and new into their debut, self-titled album. Little brain-teasers and stoner excursions mix up with some downright funky grooves. A lot of fun and a lot of potential, I hope you dig the jams, man.
