Monday 18 January 2021

Robbie and Mona 'EW'



The dreampop duo Robbie and Mona release their debut album, EW, out on January 29th via Spinny Nights

The partnership of William Carkeet and Eleanor Gray, Robbie & Mona have found a vessel for their eclectic and atmospheric pop, combining hazy shimmering synths matched with Mona’s understated vocals.



The project began when William offered to produce Eleanor’s second album; that collaboration quickly transcended into the genesis of what is now Robbie & Mona. The majority of EW was recorded in the cellar of Bristol’s legendary The Louisiana, with additional bedroom recordings.

The album as a whole is a mystical and hypnotic collection of tracks for the alternative soundtrack to a film you have never seen before, or perhaps the greatest film David Lynch has never made.

Yet there was a far odder inspiration for this track, as Mona explains: “It’s about feeling quite passive and ghost-like, like you’re in the wrong realm, just an observer. The intro vocals were delivered without any thought in a bit of a daze.

“I think the tightness of the music was weirdly inspired by Napoleon Dynamite. We were watching it and really enjoyed how all the songs towards the end were just so deadpan.”

As members of that Bristolian collective Pet Shimmers, there is a fearlessness of combining sonic textures with familiar song structures, yet the songs carry that vibe of lo-fi indie. The album explores emotional complication and the feeling of alienation – it rewards multiple listens.

While Pet Shimmers are prolific, this wave of collectivism and collaboration is rife currently in British music - from that band to Black Country, New Road to the Glaswegian Nightshift - seemingly there is nothing wrong with having strength in numbers and in this currently mad world, the case for community and togetherness is more apparent and necessary.

This minimalist approach to composition helps create an atmospheric aura of work for this duo who embrace harmony and theatricality to wonderful effect.



From 'Queen Celine' a short nugget of fragmentation, a short story over a short running time with this beautiful clash of angry guitars by Robbie yet soulful vocals by Mona.

EW is out on January 29th from Spinny Nights records

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