Review: Lochness Monster “Fables”

This is Lochness Monster.

Aside from the obvious confusion doing a Google search on their name will produce… the band creates lush, layered indie rock with nods to radio ready hooks and moody drifts.

Falling somewhere in the ether that embraces A Perfect Circle while still finding Incubus relevant, Lochness Monster deliver a healthy dose of polished rock music that breaks familiar while offering enough style to claim their own sound.

Early 2017 saw the release of the band’s debut album, “Fables”.

“Fables”, like all good albums, takes a full listen to understand the range of Lochness Monster.

The first three tracks, “First Flight”, “Pendulum”, and the title track, … all contain a certain sulky, mercurial vibe that hints towards a heavy angst as they crash against waves of their own sullen distortion.

But then the fourth song, “Pixie Cut” bops along and shines a light on their ability to weave pop hooks and upbeat ideals into their songs. A trick that made Jimmy Eat World almost famous.

What stands out when listening to Lochness Monster is the rich, opulent vocals courtesy of Michael Morello. He commands a professional range and delivery that compliments both the slow numbers and the uptempo rockers with an energy that is crystal clear emotion with a boost of intensity.

Witness one of the stand-out tracks, “Anchors Gone”. It begins with an angular guitar jab of rhythm that might illicit some Tool comparisons before the song veers into more indie-pop territory with the thick vocals on the chorus that wade into waters previously disturbed by bands like Hum and Jawbreaker.

“Fables” delivers 11 songs showcasing a love for both the heavier approach as well as the shiny rock with flairs of indie and pop that bubble through like a mento dropped into a Diet Coke. The album made a dent in the CMJ Top 50 chart, so some radio stations are paying attention as well as critics. Something about the dreamy guitars backed by the smooth layering of Morello vocals seems to blend the hooks into something catchy and accessible. It is an admirable trick to paint with such familiar colors and still produce a final product that is hard to nail down with a single comparison. Most bands can be described with a “They sound like (insert relevant band here)” and no more adjectives are needed. Such simplistic labeling doesn’t hold for a band like Lochness Monster and “Fables” is the proof.

The band hails from Miami, Florida and mostly tours that region. As of this writing, that region is being blasted by one of the biggest hurricanes in history, so hopefully, the band is ok as well as their growing fan-base out of the sunshine state.

Check in with them and see if they survived Irma. Click here for the official Lochness Monster website. Again… because that band name… is unfortunate. It must assuredly mean something tricky cool to them, but let’s face it… most of you had this in your head…