The Electric Muse (I Wanna Know Why) is the new single from Monoscopes, which will be released on X November 2023 by Big Black Car Records, and precedes the band's second album Endcyclopedia, due out in January 2024.

Why does one sing a song? Why does one write music at all? What does one want, what does one aim to achieve? The Electric Muse poses precisely this question in the song, which counts for Monoscopes as a true declaration of intent, both content- and style-wise. 

Music is the search for a meaning in things, and the Padua-based band continues to pursue the blend of rock, psychedelia and pop sensibility that has brought its debut album Painkillers and Wine such great critical acclaim, on both sides of the Channel.

The single is accompanied by a video shot by Samuele Gottardello (aka Blak Sagaan), and a virtual B-side, the noise ride The Evil That Men Do.

The Electric Muse (I Wanna Know Why)

Endcyclopedia is the new album by Monoscopes, founded by Paolo
Mioni (former member of Jennifer Gentle, spearhead of Italian psych
scene), which will be released on 26th January 2024 by Big Black Car Records.
After the debut 'Painkillers and Wine', which inspired rave reviews
(among others, the album got 4 stars on Mojo, and Shindig!  Magazine labeled it "A stellar debut"), Monoscopes are back with an album that shows their exposed nerves, just like the cover illustration.
In addition to the members of Monoscopes, the album features guests Tommaso Cerasuolo of Perturbazione and former Jennifer Gentle Francesco Candura, who shared an entire American tour with Paolo Mioni.
The album moves from psychedelic rock with pop overtones to noise rides, from nocturnal atmospheres to Velvet Underground-influenced garage pop. In between there are noise, melody, harmonic and rhythmic experimentation and a resurgence of the middle eight. In Endcyclopedia one hears echoes of the noisy spirituals of Spiritualized, of the more apocalyptic side of PJ Harvey, of the power pop of Big Star, but also of R.E.M. and the melodic quest of the unforgettable LA's.

A Quiet Life

You're Gonna Be Mine

Today Today Today

The Things That You Want To Hide

It's A Shame About You

This Silly Night

The Maker

Hey Atlas

The Green Bed

Psychedelic pop from Italy.

Monoscopes are a band founded by Paolo Mioni (vocals, guitars, keyboards), a multi-instrumentalist from Padua and former member of Italy’s Jennifer Gentle, with whom he toured coast-to-coast America and played at SXSW, as well as festivals and venues throughout Italy, and also founder of the alt-blues band Nicotine Alley, with whom he released two albums. 

Around 2015, Mioni began writing songs more oriented towards psychedelia, power pop and shoegaze, so much so that in 2016 he felt the need to start a new project, which was initially developed completely as a solo project. When the composition of the new songs was finished, however, Mioni went in search of new musicians to play them with, in the studio as well as live. 

The musicians who joined the project are all veterans of the North-East Italian indie scene: Francesco Sicchieri (formerly of Nu Bohémien) on drums and percussion, Francesco Pagliarin (SlowMotionLove, Hinamuri, Replace The Battery) on guitar and bass, and Marco Degli Esposti (Cranchi, Art of Wind, The Great Northern X, La Notte Delle Streghe), who plays bass, guitar, keyboards and sings backing vocals. With their arrival, the Monoscopes turned into a full-fledged band. 

The debut album Painkillers And Wine, released in 2021 by Big Black Car Records, the band's own label, was finally recorded and mixed by Mioni, who also produced the whole thing, with the exception of a couple of tracks previously recorded and mixed by Marco Fasolo at TUP Studios in Brescia.

Painkillers and Wine was very well received by the Italian and foreign press. Here are some quotes from the various reviews:
"A stellar debut" - Shindig! Magazine, UK
"Top grooves to support [Mioni’s] Cohen/Lou Reed-ish vocals" (4 stars) - MOJO, UK
"Intriguing and old school" - Rumore, IT
"Pure sonic grace" - Rockit, IT
'Great artistic depth' - Radio COOP, IT
The album was presented live at several concerts throughout Northern Italy.

Meanwhile, Monoscopes started recording their second album at Marco Degli Esposti's Happenstance Recording Studio. The new record sees the band reaching new levels both on a lyrical level and in terms of songwriting and performance. 

The album, entitled Endcyclopedia, will be released in January 2024, again by Big Black Car Records, and will be preceded by the single The Electric Muse (I wanna know why). Endcyclopedia features guest appearances by Tommaso Cerasuolo, the lead singer of Perturbazione (a top-tier Italian indie band), and Francesco Candura, who played bass with Jennifer Gentle for several years. It will be presented live by the band with the help of new band members Tommaso Mioni (keyboards, backing vocals) and Alex Villani (bass).

Monoscopes

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