Creating a beautiful hybrid of 2000’s indie-rock and modern electronic hyperpop is Vietnamese-American school teacher Monét Ngo with his new album After School Club. Following a series of singles, After School Club demonstrates Monét’s gifted talent of combining elements of indie-rock, R&B and pop-punk. Released via Unity Records the new LP offers the perfect soundtrack to your late-night summer drives.
The album kicks off with the warming sounds of “Summer Wind”, a laid-back sound of electric guitars, vocoders and Monét Ngo’s soft vocals. Though the first track perfectly demonstrates what Monét Ngo is capable of – creating an interesting contrast of ecstatic hyperpop and mellow indie pop and R&B with a burst of energy two minutes into the track. This chaotic yet warming energy is felt throughout, and can be heard best on “Bleachers” – one of his best works to date with crunchy guitar riffs forming the foundation for his layered, nu-school indie electronica stylings. Tracks such as “Strawberry Fields” carry a very deliberate and on-the-nose nod to authentic, shoegaze and psychedelic rock.
Each track holds a large yet powerful sound, but all come together with one meaning of having mixed emotions of living life. Monét Ngo writes “The After school club is a mixed bag, it’s essentially an accumulation of experiences and lessons I’ve learned, into a collection of music. After a long day of work, there’s so much baggage to unload and your life to live. But here you are, stuck at the « After School Club ». It’s a place to let it all out. All your emotions, good or bad it’s there. The After school club could be anything you make it. It’s a lesson, a second home, and most of all it’s a place where we are not alone.“
After School Club is out now via Unity Records.
