PIC FROM BREL SHOW 5/4/2007

Review

IS THIS MUSIC REVIEW. Monica Queen, El Rancho Relaxo, Bastille, May 27th 2006 Tasteful yet never bland, the perfect accompaniment to afterglow and mellow contemplation...the red wine Johnny Smillie sips between songs seems an apt refreshment. The ringing acoustics and impeccable vocals from Monica Queen and her enviably inventive guitarist satisfy the pallette like a bottle of fine Beaujolais shared between friends: mature yet fresh, eternal flavours sampled anew. Tonight the wood-panelled Bastille hosts a perfect match of performers, venue and audience. Exuding casual bonhomie, country club El Rancho Relaxo extends an amber-hued, candlelit Hola to an encouragingly diverse audience ranging from seasoned C&W connoisseurs to younger guns such as one young buck who could give Belle And Sebastian's Belfast Bob Kildea a run for his money in a Best Feathercut Of 1973 competition. From the moment Queen and Smillie take the intimate stageless stage through to the closing, spine-tingling The Holiest Night, the former Thrum chanteuse exerts quiet command through eight sorrowful mysteries. Rapt, we savour each word elegantly conveyed with the languid precision of a Patsy Cline. Heartbreaking ballads of love in the dark and a new, Loretta Lynn-style tale of living in a one-roomed house embrace the ether while 260 describes "a dreamer of dreamers" on the Glasgow to Coatbridge bus, "smokers at the back so much younger" with a transient serenity, the commonplace made magical, a vintage performance. Roy Moller

SORRY

We have been very lazy assuming everyone uses myspace.Will try to post info. here as well in future.So for starters. .Found this on youtube today - it is someones phone footage of Monica singing Lazy Line Painter Jane with Belle and Sebastian at their excellent show at Edinburgh Castle recently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4h4dij2lhM

NEWSNEWSNEWS

HI ALL - SORRY HAVEN'T POSTED.THIS IS BECAUSE OF OUR MYSPACE PAGE PROVING TO BE A BETTER PLACE TO SPREAD THE NEWS.PLEASE CLICK ON MONICA'S PHOTO ON THE FRONT PAGE TO ACCESS IT OR GOTO WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MONICAQUEEN YOU CAN FIND GIG NEWS,PHOTOS,VIDEOS,MUSIC,BLOGS,COMPETITIONS AND MORE AND YOU CAN SIGN UP AND BECOME OUR FRIEND AND NEVER MISS THE NEWS AGAIN.

AUTUMN LEAVES

AUTUMN LEAVES, originally uploaded by johnnysmillie.

AUTUMN LEAVES ARE FALLING AND" THE GOAT" IS CALLING

THREE NIGHTS FOR FREE

OCTOBER,NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

13TH.10TH AND 8TH NOT HARD TO REMEMBER

AUTUMN LEAVES

AUTUMN LEAVES ARE FALLING AND" THE GOAT" IS CALLING THREE NIGHTS FOR FREE OCTOBER,NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 13TH.10TH AND 8TH NOT HARD TO REMEMBER

ON THE RADIO

LISTEN TO TOM MORTON TOMMOROW ON THE BBC 2-4PM AND YOU'LL HEAR US PLAY AFEW TRACKS BEFORE OUR SHOW IN ABERDEEN. REMEMBER MONO 5TH AND EDINBURGH 10TH.

ITALIAN'S KNOW THEIR COFFEE ,ICE CREAM,CHOCOLATE AND .... MUSIC.

Monica Queen, Return of the Sacred Heart reviewed by anna battista Her first solo album, Ten Sorrowful Mysteries (Creeping Bent, 2002), won her comparisons to Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, Mary Margaret O'Hara and Neil Young. Monica Queen, ex-voice of indie band Thrum and probably best known as the guest vocalist on Belle & Sebastian’s “Lazy Line Painter Jane”, claimed then that it was a big responsibility to be compared to such singers, but, as time passed, she proved she can definitely stand up well to these comparisons. Queen’s new album, Return of the Sacred Heart (Vertical Records), co-written with and produced by ex-Thrum guitarist and Queen collaborator Johnny Smillie, extends the main religious theme of her first solo album and gives Queen’s vocal skills a new dimension. The album opens with the soulful “Fly Away”, which features Jim White (who asked Queen and Smillie to work with him on a track and has returned the favour on this song; Queen also supported White on his latest UK tour); the second track, “The Passion” is a hieratical experience with an ethereal background chorus that gives you the impression you’re listening to the song in a chapel; the title track is simply touching and heartbreaking while “Beautiful Song” is a very aptly titled track. Towards the end of the album, there are two of the best songs Queen has ever recorded, the melancholic and nostalgic “Déjà Vu” in which Queen gives her voice previously unachieved nuances, and the lulling “Holiest Night”. Throughout the album the musical arrangements are sparse, most songs feature indeed an acoustic guitar, giving in this way more space to Queen’s angelic voice, a mixture of grace, fragility and purity. Return of the Sacred Heart lifts Queen’s art to a purer and more spiritual level and reconfirms her as one of the best female singer/songwriters around.

CELEBRATE!!!

We are pleased to announce we will be performing in MONO KING ST on the 5th JUNE to celebrate the release of RETURN... and invite all of you to join us. We also have a show in Aberdeen on the 20th May at the TUNNELS and are pleased to be joined there by PINKIEMACLUIRE so come early.

NO SHOW

SOME LISTINGS HAVE US OPLAYING EDINBURGH SAT. NIGHT BUT AFRAID WE CAN'T MAKE THAT SHOW BUT WILL BE PUTTING A FEW SHOWS TOGETHER IN MAY.