Garage rock band Rome 56 made video for their Ladder of Love a track from Pony Tales album: "Focusing on the melody, plus a wealth of hooks and riffs that sound instantly familiar, listeners are transported back to the late 70s when popular music had been revived by the rise of punk."
HCTF review of Pony Tales
Veteran rock band Rome 56 stick to their guns on their eight album Pony Tales, with a dozen of catchy songs written by Arthur Lamonica (The Shirts). Sharing vocal duties with his wife Kathy, the album was put together during sessions in New York and Amsterdam. Focusing on the melody, plus a wealth of hooks and riffs that sound instantly familiarr, listeners are transported back to the late 70s when popular music had been revived by the rise of punk. Acts like Blondie made it to the mainstream, after using NYC's music club CBGB as a springboard, while other acts chalked up rave reviews, but were deemed to remain underground favourites.
Lamonica looks to the future (One Way Ticket) and the past (Hot August Night) in his lyrics. He is an optimist despite the current Stateside mess. A Shut Down Town might come back to life and maybe The Last Man Standing saves the day. The songs on Pony Tales come out swinging, not to throw a punch, but as an invitation to dance the night away.
Garage rock band Rome 56 take it slow on their May Song single, with band leader Arthur Lamonica urging to notice him while he is walking around aimlessly in his sleep.
It is a sad folk song about not wanting to let go, a subdued taste from their forthcoming new album Pony Tales, due for release on November 28 via Think Like A Key Music.
Garage rock band Rome 56 made video for their Shut Down Town single, a rollicking tribute to a city that has fallen on bad times, but stays vibrant against all odds. Led by Arthur Lamonica, best known as a member of The Shirts, the band keeps the DIY punk attitude alive. It is a track from their forthcoming new album Pony Tales, due for release on November 28 via Think Like A Key Music.
HCTF review of Paradise Is Free
Transatlantic rock band Rome 56, including musicians from NYC and The Netherlands, mixed live footage and quite a bit of AI for their The Man Behind The Man With The Gun video. It is track from their latest album Paradise Is Free.
Nobody has to tell NYC based musician Arthur Lamonica how to write a great pop song. He was a founder member of The Shirts, who became a big in The Netherlands and an underground favourite in the rest of the world. He is now the main man in Rome 56, with his wife Kathy Lamonica riding shotgun (and playing keyboards and providing backing vocals). The Transatlantic connection is still in place and the tracks for the new album Paradise Is Free where recorded on both sides of the big pond, with a bunch of kick ass local musicians laying down a fresh stack of melodic power pop tracks, with a sprinkling of New Wave and garage punk to give it an edge.
Lamonica's modus operandi as a songwriter is pretty straightforward: find a subject that is close to home, rummage through his huge collection of hooks and riffs, and presto: another fresh sounding song that is instantly familiar somehow. It is a gift he puts to good use when he describes a visit to Seattle (spoiler: he never went there) or feels the urge to leave the bar but something is holding him back (Invisible Man). With a nasal vocal delivery not unlike Elvis Costello, he tells personal stories that will strike a chord because the themes are universal. Recommended if you like the tougher side of Big Star.
