Mona/Tape The Radio - Live Review

Wednesday, the 9th of March saw King Tut’s come alive with the pop infused anthemic rock of Nashville quartet Mona and support from Tape The Radio. The eager audience had the venue packed to the rafters waiting to hear from 2011’s ‘next big thing’.  (God that tag has been thrown about a lot this year already-Ed)

Up first was London-based, black clad trio Tape The Radio, who, despite being relatively new to the music scene had a surprisingly confident and rounded sound (no doubt thanks to their experience touring with bands such as The Duke Spirit and Stereophonics). Despairing vocals merged with whining guitars and solid rhythms drag you in, only to snap you back into reality with massive chorus’s loud enough to knock the beer out of your hand. However the tunes became a bit predictable, and when you know what to expect things stop being so exciting. Nevertheless these guys certainly got feet tapping and brought the atmosphere up for the main act of the night, Mona.

Strolling on stage with their quiffed hair and plain white T-shirts, Mona certainly have style and look every inch the stereotypical rock band, but you can’t be all style and no substance. It’s easy to see where the buzz surrounding Mona comes from, their music is big and dramatic, lead singer Nick Brown screams down the mic with a passionate force. However the run-of-the-mill radio friendly rock is too restrained to merit such energy.  The comparison to Kings of Leon holds no weight for me; aside from sharing a home state in Tennessee, Mona’s polished rock lacks the rawness of Kings of Leon’s early recordings, and to follow in the tracks set out by someone else will only get you so far.

Mona did switch things up a bit with an excellent Johnny Cash cover during the encore but ultimately nothing stood out as a ‘wow’ moment. Their music is inoffensive and catchy, but I can’t help but feel that any success Mona gets will be short-lived.

Sophie McGraw