Together at Last

As bassist and co-songwriter for the Lucksmiths, Mark Monnone was responsible for helping to create some of the most thoughtful and tender indie pop around. After the band's split in 2009, he spent time playing with Still Flyin' and working on solo material under the name Monnone Alone. Unsurprisingly, the first Monnone Alone album features an unstinting supply of tenderly crafted, sweetly sung indie pop that's both witty and warm. Touching on topics as unspectacular and real as unpaid library fines, watching videos, and love, the bouncy rhythms are infectious, the harmony vocals are uniformly sweet, and Monnone's everyman vocals fit perfectly with the understated backing, which is provided by his own guitar work and a core duo of drummer Gus Franklin and bassist Connal Parsley. Further belying the name of the project, Monnone is also helped out by a bunch of friends and colleagues, including Aislers Set's Amy Linton and the Ladybug Transistor's Gary Olson. It's a welcome return for one of the good guys of indie pop and will fit in happily on the shelf next to the discerning fan's Lucksmiths collection.