In Your Hand

A combination of musical genres and musicians Muzza Monroe and the Lushous Strings have completed a body of songs that threaten, curse and pyre the unease in any listener. Muzza over the last year has been writing the material and penned the lyrics to these disturbing songs and with the amalgamation of Nikkie Dobosi in the arrangements of the strings has added the inspirational dark textures and string sounds. It has created an ode to post modern, contemporary society. Muzza's poetic, surrealistic songwriting conjures concrete if frightening images that reflect some of the horror found in today's living. Is it blues, rock, opera or all three Rhythmic, funereal observations march protest at the current level of greed and corruption in politics as Unravelling of the Sins, Geodarwin; Freedom to be found and religion gets a serve when hypocrisy is exposed in Miss Believer and Gypsy Wench and to your greatest feeling Love as Poison is a tale of despair. The music soars and meets almost operatically over these universal themes while cello and violin counterpoint the deep, deep voice of Muzza that tears at your heart. The strings are truly luscious and if you don't have goose bumps in 'The Gypsy Wench' check your pulse to see if you're still alive The fibrous texture, the mostly raw razed vocal approach, the narrow melodic ranges, insistent monotones and interwoven violin threads, the deliberate elemental use of musical events, as the tracks don't build so much as 'fill'. The Clint Eastwood avenging angel of songs. 'In your hand' moves forward from Muzza's last collaboration with 'The Chucky Monroes' - ' Fallen Angel' while retaining the dark edge that is his trade mark and allowed him to tour thru Europe and the UK playing festivals and venues as in The Borderline in Soho and the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the last few years. The Lushous Strings are Nikkie Dobosi Cello and Musical Arranger Belinda Jezek Violin Stephanie Zarka Violin and Alex Pringle Viola who have played not only at the highest level in the orchestral and chamber ensembles in Australia but has in recent years played with John Waters, Jimmy Barnes, Darryl Braithwaite Grinspoon Sleepy Jackson, Paul Mac, Charlie McMahon The Whitlams to name a few. This recently recorded album at Electric Ave Studios in Camperdown was recorded mixed and produced by Tony Cohen and Mastered by Don Bartley at Studio 301