Nate Mondschein – Queen City Sounds and Art

BEST_MANN_GEORGIA_TEENSMA-sm — Best Mann, photo by Georgia Teensma

The mellotron loop that runs throughout Best Mann’s single “MCO” keeps up back drop of dreamlike abstract melody upon which songwriter and producer Nate Mondschein places percussion, bass, minimal guitar and a story of some people’s tendency to need to have one’s romantic experiences and relationships to be like something out of a movie and overdoing everything in a way that could never be sustained by mere mortals long term. And the expectations placed on oneself and others that puts undue pressure on the association before it can really start or solidify and work to erode it from the start with the heaviness of it all. Everyone wants their love relationships to be imbued with some magic and passion but life isn’t always peak moments and if we let in some breathing room we might have more of that if we don’t always expect it of ourselves and our loved ones. Or out of any situation in life. The down times and those times we might think of as boring or dull are as important to our psychology as those that are the opposite. Joseph Campbell might have implied something like that in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. At any rate, the lush atmospheres and slow dynamic wave of the song is a recognition of this reality and attempt to honor the impulse of connection without shame as well as the human emotional limitations that often go unacknowledged. Best Mann’s new album …And the Sky is due out on October 25, 2019. Listen to “MCO” on Soundcloud and follow Best Mann at the links below.