Monte Luna Post ‘Live at Studio E’ Livestream Video

monte luna

Studio E in San Antonio, Texas, has hosted regular streams and at least from watching Monte Luna tear shit up for an hour, they seem well equipped to do so. There are some strobe flashes in the video itself, but that’s nothing compared to the sludgy onslaught of the Austin-based trio, who, if you’ve never seen them in-person, gave fervent argument in favor of doing so. Last summer, they released the Mind Control Broadcast EP (discussed here), reveling in volume for new material recorded as part of a livestream for CvltNation. ‘Live at Studio E’ may or may not get turned into an audio release, but hell’s bells, it should, even if it’s only a Bandcamp Friday tossoff.

All three of the cuts on Mind Control Broadcast were brought to bear, with “Rust Goliath” leading off and “Black Star” giving a hookier anchor as they moved into the second half of the proceedings. If you watched live, there was some audio trouble, but that’s all cut from the video below, and after copious shoutouts and virtual hugs from guitarist/vocalist James Cl, they’re underway quickly enough with a brand of sludge that’s both pure volume revelry and atmospheric, drawing cosmic edge from the School of YOB but having stripped away the longform presentation that typified their 2017 self-titled debut (review here) in favor of a more pointed, turn-based battle system on 2019’s Drowners’ Wives (review here). It is to their credit and that of Studio E that the stream didn’t come through clipped to all hell. One assumes a significant soundcheck happened prior.

Joined by drummer Danny Marshner, who also provided atmospheric synth sampling as transitions between songs — he also won t-shirts, with Holly Hunt, as one will every time — and bassist Garth Condit, the trio came ready to party with James Cl at the fore and sure enough made their time a blast. Cl, né Clarke, has a scream I can only describe as “easy” in the sense that he can do it for an hour’s stretch and not lose fervency and slip in and out of it in favor of cleaner vocalizing. It’s the kind of thing a singer who can sing, as he can, might give up as the band continues to grow, but for what it’s worth, I hope he doesn’t; it’s one more tool in the shed to make Monte Luna a more varied, unpredictable act.

They finished with “Man of Glass” from Drowners’ Wives — it was the only song from that album they played — and I remember thinking after Mind Control Broadcast that they should do their next full-length mostly if not completely live in the studio. That opinion was only furthered here. Not every band can bring a show’s energy to playing in a studio or livestream setting. Monte Luna clearly can, and while I’d hope to see them on a stage at some point in the unknowable future, in these take-what-you-can-get days, ‘Live at Studio E’ is hardly roughing it.

Enjoy:

Monte Luna, ‘Live at Studio E’

James Cl on ‘Live at Studio E’:

We may have had some technical difficulties starting but when we got rolling it was a great time! It was so wonderful being back in San Antonio, a city we love and miss. Even if it was for a live stream it was the closest thing to a live show we’ve had in months! We can’t wait for live shows to return! Your eyes are dazed and heavy.

Setlist:
Rust Goliath (Mind Control Broadcast)
Burning of Elohim (ST)
Nameless City (ST)
Nightmare Frontier (ST)
Black Star (Mind Control Broadcast)
Fear the Sun (Mind Control Broadcast)
Man of Glass (Drowners’ Wives)

Audio – Brant Sankey – Studio E Recording
https://www.facebook.com/StudioE210??
https://www.instagram.com/studioe210/??

Video – Oscar Moreno
https://www.facebook.com/oscarmphoto??
https://www.instagram.com/oscarmorenophoto/

Assistant – Nick Sabala

Special Thanks – Billie Patterson
https://www.instagram.com/billie.wonka

Monte Luna are:
Guitar/Vox: James Cl
Drums/Noise: Danny Marschner
Bass: Garth Condit

Monte Luna on Thee Facebooks

Monte Luna on Bandcamp

Monte Luna on Instagram

Argonauta Records website

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