Monica Bang make loud, honest, beautiful noise. Their shows feel like stepping into a packed room where everything hits you at once: sweat, volume and insanely fun queer energy that shakes you awake. They call themselves a “sporty, sweaty fever dream in a bikini. NYC. punk or whatever you want it to be.” No lie, that’s as real as it gets.
Their new four-song EP We’re Not Safe is raw, urgent and completely unfiltered. It feels like a short manifesto for whatever this upside-down timeline we’ve ended up in, and it goes straight for the truth without cleaning anything up. Kyra warns you, “I’m scared to go outside, because that man has a gun,” then shifts into a mantra in case you miss the point: “We’re not safe, we’re not safe, we’re not safe, anywhere.” We are all stuck in this together, and Monica Bang are fighting back one song at a time.
Photography by © Tyler Clark (@tylerclarkdp)
We talked with the band about cows, New York and the music that keeps them going.
★ What’s the story behind We’re Not Safe, and what does this release mean to you?
Kyra Tantao: The band has had many iterations since 2016, but for the past two years, the current lineup feels permanent, and finally right. And since 2016, with the revolving door of members and periods of hiatus, the only track we’ve ever had available for fans to listen to was “Cows,” a scrappy song put together in my bedroom with virtually zero production and like two instruments. As endearing (and surprisingly beloved) as that recording was, we’ve been long overdue to have actual music available that reflects this modern era of Monica Bang that captures our true essence. Ironically, the title of the EP comes from third song, “We’re Not Safe,” which was written way back in that 2016 era. We cycled through a lot of titles, but kept coming around to this one. We feel it represents how we’re feeling right now in this “moment” (unless you’re living under a rock, you know that it’s feeling very end-of-days out there), especially as of group made up of entirely queer and marginalized folks. And the fact that not a single lyric on that track has been updated in the 9 years since its inception, speaks volumes to the fear, distress, and, well, unsafety, we’ve been experiencing on an incline. As fun and jumpy as the energy of this collection of music is, we hope the message is also blaring and in your face. Like, HELLO, WAKE UP. (ps. if anyone is still missing the cows, they can buy it from us on bandcamp. that is the only barn for the cows for now. also you should buy all of our music on bandcamp because these streamers suck)
★ New York can be a love-hate city. What’s something you absolutely adore about it, and what drives you crazy?
O.B. Macdougall: New York is a city that requires you to keep pushing, to figure out how to live more easefully. It rewards effort and asks for it constantly. Living here means that having anchor points with people you love, and making art that feels worthwhile, becomes essential to feeling like you are part of the city’s endless push and pull. Meaning is self-ascribed until the threads of connection start to lead you along. New York is our big daddy mama teacher.
★ What’s the most bizarre thing that’s happened to you as a band, the kind of moment you still can’t believe was real?
Mareko James: We all banged Monica! It was crazy when we realized it was the same Monica.
★ Which albums have fueled Monica Bang’s sound, and why they still hit so hard for you?
Kyra/All: 10000% I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy. Such an unoriginal opinion, but they capture softness and rage in such a graceful and fierce way that we always try to mirror and god we love them so much. Another obvious answer, but Comfort To Me or probably any album by Amyl and The Sniffers. If we get called an Amyl knockoff, I’ll die happy. Biggest compliment we’ve ever gotten is after a show, someone called our sound “Fugazi meets old school Gwen Stefani,” which is literally the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard, and a really accurate reflection of the other vibes and sounds we’re trying to go for. “Til It’s Clean” has a very obvious Sleater Kinney vibe to it, and really looking forward to producing some dark and moodier tracks in that vein in the future, too.
★ How would you describe Monica Bang in just three words?
Jenno Snyder: Gay as fuck.
Check out Monica Bang here
Visit Monica Bang on Instagram here
Visit Tyler Clark on Instagram here