Hailing from Indio, California, is Analog Lab, a two-piece alternative experimental band. Starting as a solo project of actor and solo acoustic artist Miguel Arballo, he began exploring songwriting with many artists. Through performing many sets at Coachella Valley, Arballo met rapper (known as AEIOU) and drummer Sean McCune and turned Analog into a band destined to create music inside their heads. With vast influences ranging from alt-rock and heavy metal to folk, Analog Lab create soundscapes that transport you and live shows that entrance you. You can find Arballo on guitar, vocals, and bass, while McCune's talents include drums, programming, and vocals. Together the pair released a debut EP, a handful of singles, and their most recent endeavor, a new EP titled Anti Dove.
The penultimate song on the four-track EP, Anti Dove, is their longest on the record, "Monet." The song begins just with drums and bass, setting the audio scene like smoke rolling in before revealing a movie set. At 0:58, vocals enter, sounding more indie, and at 1:40, the alt-rock energy hits. You hear angst and grit with heavy-hitting drums and distorted guitars.
The lyrics uncover this story that's deep and emotive, as Analog Lab sings, "staring at all, the pictures/ lying in your heart Monet/ I pray, you say/ I've painted all the pictures blinding your eyes/ I pray, Monet, you see/ the lies in all the wasted time in your heart." At 2:26, we get more of what sounds like the intro, the building drums, bass, and synthesizer. We return to more of that indie sound as they sing, "no rest for the wicked/no rest for the night/no rest for my soul," which, given the band's influences, sounds like it could be a reference to Cage The Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked." At 4:19, the grit returns, with the chorus returning before fading out to the soundscape.
LONG STORY SHORT: Analog Lab's "Monet" is like two tracks in one, indie and alt-rock. You get an audio atmosphere with a hard rock chorus, all while telling a story that feels intimate yet universal.
Stream "Monet" below!
Credits:
Lyrics: Miguel Arballo
Music: Analog Lab
Mix: Timothy Burr