WE ARE MONROE

The members of Montreal’s We Are Monroe want to get people moving - “we write music for closet dancers” is one of the band’s mantras, and it is a fitting one for a group of talented musicians who have molded an infectious sound that is part rock n’ roll, part punk, part new wave, part indie, part electro and all raw energy.

Formed in early 2012, We Are Monroe slowly came together over time, starting with a high-school friendship in the late 90s, followed by a coincidental beer-fuelled meet-up a decade later; and finally, the not-so-casual encounter with the perfect singer who was unashamedly snatched from his own band by the other three members. The band was born from the ashes of several local favourite groups from the city, and when they stumbled upon now-lead singer, Pat, they knew they had found their man. He had the biggest voice they had ever heard, and he would be the one to carry the band to a new sonic frontier. 

The band has performed all over the world, selling out venues and playing internationally renowned festivals such as the Ottawa Folk Fest, the Festival d’été de Québec, M for Montreal, and most recently, the iconic Osheaga Music and Arts Festival. Over the years,  We Are Monroe has shared the stage with some of the best local, national and international acts such as The Dears, Kodaline, Foster the People, We Are Wolves, Plants and Animals, The Damn Truth, Tommy Stinson, The Beaches, and The Sherlocks and as time went on, the band has evolved to reach new musical horizons. Whereas early in their career, comparisons were made to groups like The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and The Bravery, over time, they started to get more into atmospherics and created a less frenetic, more lush vibe to their music. With 2 releases under their belt: 2015’s Funeral EP, and 2017's White Lights LP, the band have really found their groove and worked most recently with producers Gus Van Go (Arkells, The Stills, Wintersleep) and Jesse Mac Cormack (Helena Deland, Philippe Brach) to put together the 3-song EP "Movements", set to be released on May 28th 2021.

We Are Monroe’s new songs came together in the midst of the global pandemic, so whereas in the past, the group was used to jamming on ideas until they formed into songs - the approach had to change with social distancing measures, with each member of the group writing at home and sharing ideas via internet. The songs were built and constructed from a distance, but the band came together to record the new material with two legendary producers. 

Gus Van Go (former frontman for Me Mom and Morgentaler and current superproducer) brought the band to his mythical Brooklyn studio to hone their sound. According to drummer Ben, “Working with Gus brought out the best in us, he's a brilliant producer and knows good music... and knows how to get it out of you!!”

Working with Jesse Mac Cormack was a huge source of inspiration as well. The members of the band were big fans of his track No Love Go, especially his approach to working with synths, which have become a big part of the We Are Monroe sound. Jesse’s creative approach brought out the best in the band members and the new sound is trippy and powerful.

Working with both of them brought so much depth to the music. “Gus has this quality where he’s so great at distilling ideas to their absolute strongest parts and then doubling down and making each element vital and sound really good,” says guitarist Jason, “Jesse, on the other hand, is all about building a universe around the core idea... so he’s going to be looking at creating layers and establishing a mood or a vibe” says keyboardist Bryan, who goes on to say, “one way of working is not better than the other...  In both cases we were really excited with the end results!”