Ears Wide Open: LIBRA

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LIBRA (Photo by Larry Niehues)

Zeh Monstro fronted Brazilian indie-rockers Name the Band, who alighted in L.A. from São Paulo in 2014. Besides his adventures in NTB, he’s been a sideman for Veronica Bianqui, Kate Clover and Crocodiles, among others, and late November brought the unveiling of his long-in-the-works solo project, LIBRA.

Made with producer Al Sgro and featuring vocals from L.A. singer-songwriter Lily Waters, “Freak Show” is his initial single. It’s far the from the biting indie-rock of Name the Band, but there’s certainly some grittiness in the song’s mid-tempo swing. It’s all about living in L.A’s fast lane: “Woke up, I don’t know where I am / Too fucked up to even give a damn.”

Monstro told Foxes Magazine it was inspired by many a night on the town. “You just end up having these meaningless conversations, these relationships that aren’t going to help you in any way as a human being, you go home and you’re like ‘Why was I even there?’,” he says. “But the next night you want to go again!”

The songwriter says he intends to feature a different female singer on each of LIBRA’s songs. The release of “Freak Show” marks the second solo project from a member of Name the Band; Gabriel da Rosa debuted his first song as Love Dealer earlier this year.

||| Stream: “Freak Show”