Mistletone

BC by Montero from Christian J Petersen on Vimeo.

“This gloriously psychedelic video is the world premiere for “BC,” a new song by Australian musician/comic artist/animator/renaissance man Ben Montero, and the first single from his upcoming debut album The Loving Gaze, which is out on September 20 via Mistletone. The song is an ode to the power of music — as Montero says, “Romantic pop songs can be your life coach. Healing and trusting music. Don’t be afraid to use all your power and magic and don’t let the cynicism of others get into your bloodstream.” The video, meanwhile, is the work of Christian J Peterson of Seattle-based studio I Want You, and is just as gloriously warm and colorful as the song itself” – FLAVORWIRE

MONTERO TOUR DATES:

FRIDAY 27 SEPTEMBER: MELBOURNE LP LAUNCH @ HOWLER with special guests Andras and Prudence Rees-Lee. Tickets $12 + booking fee on sale now.

SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER: SYDNEY LP LAUNCH @ GOODGOD’S BIRTHDAY NIGHTS! Montero headline the Smash Hits! party at Goodgod along with Standish/Carlyon • The Murlocs • Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys • Alex Cameron • Mining Boom • Four Door • Major Napier • Black Vanilla • Yo Grito! • Silky Doyle • DJ Principal Blackman. Earlybird – $15+bf / General Admission $20+bf, tickets on sale now.

FRIDAY 11 OCTOBER: INSTORE @ POLYESTER RECORDS, MELBOURNE. Free, all ages, 6pm start.

FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER: MELBOURNE MUSIC WEEK OPENING NIGHT @ The Residence. Opening Night curated by Mistletone, with The Bats (NZ), Sonny & the Sunsets, Boomgates + special guest. Tickets on sale now.

Mistletone is honoured to release the debut album by Montero, The Loving Gaze, on vinyl and digital release only via Inertia. Release date: September 20.

FROM CYNICISM TO BELIEF. From the negative to the positive. From weakness to strength. From black and white to full colour. Montero’s debut album The Loving Gaze holds out a hand to you, the listener; inviting you on a journey that’s both expansive and inward, ever inward.

The masterwork of habitual Melbourne dreamer, iconoclast, enthusiast, songwriter, comic book writer, visual artist, animator and frontman extraordinaire Ben Montero, The Loving Gaze is a willing escapade from the everyday. This timeless album is an embracing of “bigger day” daydreams and sonic ambition, with a grasp on 1970s auteur rock classicism that’s rarely seen. Yet this is not a retro album; it’s entirely of this moment. Warm and cyclical. Kaleidescopic, rich and strong, yet still containing the roughness of instinct.

The inspirations Montero drew upon include late 1970s Beach Boys and Dennis Wilson, The Carpenters, Burt Bacharach, Eric Carmen, The Association, California sunshine pop, power ballads, 1980s TV theme song melodies, obscure psychedelic pop discoveries and the Brill Building songwriters who started looking inwardly for inspiration. Ben also credits contemporary kindred spirits such as Destroyer, Ariel Pink and John Maus, not as musical influences, but as role models for “letting the colours out”; growing into your inspirations and true loves, and realising your powers, without regard for outside opinions.

Montero’s own musical metamorphosis — from a self-doubting 20-something, whose gifts were perfectly manifest in the imperfect vehicles of his early bands (Treetops, Holiday Maker, The Brutals, The TM Band), into the strength and surety that entering your 30s brings, the ability to convey and express your inspirations with authority and conviction — is gloriously apparent in the synthesis of day glo melody, musical depth and imagination on this stunning album.

But lest you think this epicness emerged fully formed, it came after many years hidden away in bedrooms with an acoustic guitar and a Tascam, filling up garbage bags with tape after tape. Ever uncomfortable in repressive band circles and writing for other people and not truly for himself, Ben hid behind a fringe, a bass guitar and cynicism. These songs were written when Ben got through a difficult time by visiting a local church drop in centre, where they allowed him to play piano for people having recovery meetings. With no-one else around, Ben played with melodies and chords and began to write songs purely for himself, letting go of the idea that being in band was the only reason to make music.

With the newfound confidence to be a leader, not a follower, came a band with the smarts and sensitivity to realise Montero’s visions. The luxury of beautiful vocals to be heard on this album (and in Montero’s celebratory live performances) come from years of harmony singing between Montero and longtime collaborator Gerald Wells, who also plays synths. With Chapter Music founder and solo balladeer Guy Blackman on piano, Cameron Potts (Ninety Nine, Baseball) on the drumkit, local producer Robert “Bobby Brave” Bravington (Early Woman) on bass and Geoffrey O’Connor (Geoffrey O’Connor, Crayon Fields) on guitar, Montero is a powerful, sensual supergroup. So don’t be shy. Raise up your eyes and accept The Loving Gaze.

• “Soft rock. Tender like a gram mammy’s bosom… Like Bowie at his most expansive all mixed up with Herb Alpert’s weirder moments” – THE THOUSANDS
• “Stemming from the same school of retro-pop fetishism as US masters Ariel Pink and John Maus, Montero set their ship on a smoother and sexier course with the effortlessly dreamy Passions. The lovelorn themes provide a stylistic allegory, “destined to repeat our history”, and everything comes together for a sultry launch into the stratosphere” – BEAT MAGAZINE