The title-track is a declaration to move onward and upward, a couple weathering the storm of transition and change. As illustrated by the emotive cover art by Anna Bihari, the band continues to press on with an “Us against the world” mentality, all the while determined to remain free spirits.

Pete Faust continues to defy songwriting convention while adhering to cohesive pop melodies in the style of an electronic-Ramones. In addition to her duties as the band’s live multimedia artist, Mary Alice Hamnett joins in on backup vocal duties, adding a saucy dynamic not heard before on previous EG albums. With this, the band finalizes what had been an ongoing transition from solo-to-duo.

Faust presents his usual sense of humor and postmodern sensibilities with observational quips about near-modern and contemporary entertainment on songs such as “The Internet,” “Virtual Reality Helmet,” and “Sitcom-Core,” a tongue-in-cheek analysis of the very genre he invented. The TV Sitcom themes are more often present on this album as metaphor and allegory, while occasionally still tackling the subject (The Cosby Show) head on in songs like “Mr. Clyde.” Faust’s wide musical influences are on display throughout – “Reagan’s Got the Bomb” is a tribute/parody of 80’s hardcore punk, while “Mom, What are Girls Like?” harkens back to old school hip-hop. The album is avant-garde without being pretentious, because while the band has matured musically, the subject matter clearly demonstrates the lack of maturity we’ve come to expect.

Love in an Escalator is available now for free download or for purchase in Deluxe, Standard, or CD formats. The Deluxe download has TEN additional bonus tracks – don’t miss out!

This retrospective collection contains 16 unreleased tracks from throughout the band’s history, featuring music written music by the four original members of Infinite Number of Sounds (Brent Gummow, David Mansbach, Matt Mansbach and Ron Tucker) as well as contributions by Ed van der Kuil (Dink), cONScIENcE (Basement Love Underground), Jacob Wynne (Revolution Brass Band), Clayton Vaughn (Boulder Chamber Orchestra), Eric Alleman, Daniel Raible and Heather Manalili (ToBoxWithMan) and about a dozen zombie films.

Mr. Stranahan’s compositions as a bandleader are technical and complex, but this solo gong and singing bowl setup allows him to experiment with different sounds and textures without regard for form.

Powered by three veterans of the Cleveland jazz scene, Monkeyspoon was an opportunity to react in the moment with trust and passion, inspired by a desire to be free in a three-dimensional world.

Their new album “Alone in the Desert” was recorded at a time where Peter “pedro” Dell (Djembe, Bongos, Paint Can, Percussion), Jack Novatny (Tenor and Soprano Sax, Bass Clarinet, Flute), and Ron “ERU” Smith (Piano, Fretless and Upright Bass) were all musically, spiritually, and emotionally trying something new and uncharted. The improvisations captured on “Alone in the Desert” represent a musical give and take in sounds, colors, and rhythms.  It was a very unique reunion of long standing friendships and where they were able to express their own personal journeys through the music.

Listen to it here!