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It’s a strange time to be making music at all. In the midst of this bizarre attention economy, it’s hard to retrain our minds to sit still for an entire song. We are in constant states of flux. Kansas City’s resident post-punks Monta find themselves in that same state of change now. The band is finding freedom in the moment, wherever it takes them.
Monta means “to climb higher.” This band continues that climb through lineup changes and scenes ebbing and flowing. Founded by brothers Dedric and Delaney Moore, Monta (originally Monta At Odds) has grown into its own community with a rotating cast of musicians and characters. Exploring the far reaches of sound through psych-rock freakouts, the band is now turning its attention toward melody. Monta can now take their noisy, pulsing soundscapes and pair those with pop hooks. With friends and other collaborators making appearances, Monta expands and contracts to fit the need of the song.
This shift towards melody is audible in their newer material. “Everybody’s Baby” is a dark-wave rager, perfect for the back room of a dimly lit club. Peak of Eternal Light, released in 2021, alternates between dreamy post-punk and dark synth-pop with no missteps in between. Dedric remarks that the band is in the process of “simplifying the song down to what it needs.”The band has honed in on this approach and is making some of their most interesting material to date. Their songs beg us to dance away the darker moments of our lives. By dredging up these murky memories and setting them against a backdrop of groovy, angular post-punk, Monta helps us to make sense of this cold, bleak world.
Monta has taken advantage of Kansas City’s centralized location, making frequent treks to Chicago and even playing 2022’s Treefort Fest in Boise, ID. Riding on the strength of their new material, Monta hopes to travel and bring their songs to as many people as possible. In a cultural ocean with ever-changing waves, it’s nice to know that some things are still built to last. Monta is here to stay, even though they won’t remain the same.
