MISSING MONUMENTS
''MISSING MONUMENTS (BONUS TRACKS)''
JULY 30 2013
40:25
1 - Answer the Call/2:45
2 - Steelin' Time/3:18
3 - Another Girl/3:24
4 - Dead to Me/3:17
5 - Grizzly Star/3:09
6 - Super Hero/4:31
7 - Tru Luv/3:47
8 - Crash Landing/2:35
9 - I Don't Share/2:13
10 - Go Away/2:58
11 - Heart and Soul/2:57
12 - Bleed (Bonus)/1:48
13 - (I'm Gonna) Love You Back to Life (Bonus)/3:12
REVIEW
by Tim Sendra
If King Louie Bankston had retired after his brief stint as a songwriter/keyboardist in the Exploding Hearts, he would have done enough to be remembered as a punk pop hero. He kept moving, and after a few projects had come and gone, he returned in the 2010s with a new combo called Missing Monuments. Their formula is simple. Louie writes super catchy songs, shouts them out in his hoarse holler, and the band tear it up with vim and vigor. Their second self-titled album is bursting with fun and fiery uptempo rockers that have a kick like a mule, midtempo ballads that mix punk, rock, and soul up in a whirring blend, and even a couple slow-burning tracks that steam along like lost AOR classics. It’s not easy to fit into any narrow definition of punk rock or garage punk or any other, since Louie and his crew are a little too weird and wild to be tied down. To that end, you get the occasional drum solo, songs about superheroes (the sweet as sugar “Super Hero”), headbands, and every last song has a fiery heavy metal guitar solo by Julien Friend that sounds ripped right off from a Saxon song. Or AC/DC. The raging “Crash Landing” even has some truly nuts dual guitar riffing that’s so sweaty and hairy you can almost smell the wet leather. Friend’s virtuoso skills match Bankston’s uncanny knack for crafting songs that stick in your head like chewed-up bubblegum, and the rhythm section plays with intense energy when they need to, but also scales back impressively on the tunes that need some finesse. Missing Monuments is garage punk rock & roll at its best and proves without a doubt that King Louie Bankston is some kind of wizard, able to conjure up heart-pumping magic with a couple of chords and some noise. Dirtnap makes the package even better by including the band’s entire first album (Painted White on Douchemaster) and their 7" on Hozac as bonus tracks on the CD and download editions.
BIOGRAPHY
by Tim Sendra
King Louie Bankston is a Louisiana garage punk legend with a résumé a yard long, having started in the early '90s in the band the Royal Pendletons. He also played in Bad Times with Jay Reatard and, most famously, was a short-term member of punk heroes the Exploding Hearts, writing "I'm a Pretender" and playing keyboards on the classic Guitar Romantic album in 2003. After spending time as a one-man band and in a couple of other combos, Bankston and his guitar playing friend, Julian Fried, started Missing Monuments in 2009. They recruited drummer Aaron Hill and bassist Bennette Bartley and started playing shows. In 2010, the band released their first single, "Black Rainbows"/"Tailspin" for Douchemaster (under the name King Louie's Missing Monuments). The next year saw their debut album, Painted White, unleashed by the same label. Bartley left soon after and was replaced by Benny Divine of the band Wizzard Sleeve. The group then put out a single ("I'm Gonna Love You Back to Life") on Hozac in 2012 and began work on an album. The self-titled record was released by Dirtnap in summer of 2013.
''MISSING MONUMENTS (BONUS TRACKS)''
JULY 30 2013
40:25
1 - Answer the Call/2:45
2 - Steelin' Time/3:18
3 - Another Girl/3:24
4 - Dead to Me/3:17
5 - Grizzly Star/3:09
6 - Super Hero/4:31
7 - Tru Luv/3:47
8 - Crash Landing/2:35
9 - I Don't Share/2:13
10 - Go Away/2:58
11 - Heart and Soul/2:57
12 - Bleed (Bonus)/1:48
13 - (I'm Gonna) Love You Back to Life (Bonus)/3:12
REVIEW
by Tim Sendra
If King Louie Bankston had retired after his brief stint as a songwriter/keyboardist in the Exploding Hearts, he would have done enough to be remembered as a punk pop hero. He kept moving, and after a few projects had come and gone, he returned in the 2010s with a new combo called Missing Monuments. Their formula is simple. Louie writes super catchy songs, shouts them out in his hoarse holler, and the band tear it up with vim and vigor. Their second self-titled album is bursting with fun and fiery uptempo rockers that have a kick like a mule, midtempo ballads that mix punk, rock, and soul up in a whirring blend, and even a couple slow-burning tracks that steam along like lost AOR classics. It’s not easy to fit into any narrow definition of punk rock or garage punk or any other, since Louie and his crew are a little too weird and wild to be tied down. To that end, you get the occasional drum solo, songs about superheroes (the sweet as sugar “Super Hero”), headbands, and every last song has a fiery heavy metal guitar solo by Julien Friend that sounds ripped right off from a Saxon song. Or AC/DC. The raging “Crash Landing” even has some truly nuts dual guitar riffing that’s so sweaty and hairy you can almost smell the wet leather. Friend’s virtuoso skills match Bankston’s uncanny knack for crafting songs that stick in your head like chewed-up bubblegum, and the rhythm section plays with intense energy when they need to, but also scales back impressively on the tunes that need some finesse. Missing Monuments is garage punk rock & roll at its best and proves without a doubt that King Louie Bankston is some kind of wizard, able to conjure up heart-pumping magic with a couple of chords and some noise. Dirtnap makes the package even better by including the band’s entire first album (Painted White on Douchemaster) and their 7" on Hozac as bonus tracks on the CD and download editions.
BIOGRAPHY
by Tim Sendra
King Louie Bankston is a Louisiana garage punk legend with a résumé a yard long, having started in the early '90s in the band the Royal Pendletons. He also played in Bad Times with Jay Reatard and, most famously, was a short-term member of punk heroes the Exploding Hearts, writing "I'm a Pretender" and playing keyboards on the classic Guitar Romantic album in 2003. After spending time as a one-man band and in a couple of other combos, Bankston and his guitar playing friend, Julian Fried, started Missing Monuments in 2009. They recruited drummer Aaron Hill and bassist Bennette Bartley and started playing shows. In 2010, the band released their first single, "Black Rainbows"/"Tailspin" for Douchemaster (under the name King Louie's Missing Monuments). The next year saw their debut album, Painted White, unleashed by the same label. Bartley left soon after and was replaced by Benny Divine of the band Wizzard Sleeve. The group then put out a single ("I'm Gonna Love You Back to Life") on Hozac in 2012 and began work on an album. The self-titled record was released by Dirtnap in summer of 2013.
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