August 31, 2026 by A.S. Van Dorston

San Diego psych proggers woodshed seven years with analog synths for their third album.

Monarch had to be something special to be one of the very few American bands to make the roster of the prestigious Dutch label El Paraiso. Coming from a San Diego heavy psych prog/jam scene that included Sacri Monti, Joy, Red Wizard, Brian Ellis Group and Astra, they released two gorgeous albums (both looks and sounds) of psych prog in 2017 and 2019. Then silence for seven years. Despite my obsessively trying to track any announcements from the band, I missed the sneak release of their third album by over a month. Turns out they followed the template of Tame Impala, Pond, Temples and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard in embracing synthesizers, as if this half-century old technology was the fresh new sound. This can easily result in disaster, or in the case of Tame Impala, a gradual downward trajectory. However, some bands have handled the shift in instrumentation with deft artistic creativity and curiosity, such as Dungen on En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (2022) and Syd Arthur’s Apricity (2016), which turned out to be one of my favorite albums of this century. Fortunately, MA3 lies somewhere between Dungen and Syd Arthur, accomplishing a playful but accessible batch of songs that sparkle with that extra ingrediant of analog synth sheen. They are on a new label, even though they could have still easily fit in with Jakob Scøt, Jonas Munk & Nicklas Sørensen, Justin Pinkerton, Astral TV and Videodrones, all releasing electronic based projects.

The problem is that synth music can get dull and repetitive, even some of the more fashionably popular stuff this decade. Thankfully Monarch don’t take a tastefully restrained approach to their flavor of synth psych, kicking off the album with the short but wild “Chitta,” a virtual orgy of analog synth (likely a Behringer MS‑1, which mirrors the classic 70s sound of the Roland SH-101) noise and vocals run through what sounds like an EMS Vocoder 2000 — think ELO’s “Prologue” & “Yours Truly, 2095” toonced up on methamphamines. While Monarch has maintained a Dixie Dregs jazz-rock deftness since their first EP back in 2014, they still kick some dicks with steel-toed boots too. Take the second track, “Stranger,” which charges down the road like a NASCAR race, drums thwacking and guitars slashing with the gusto of prime Trans Am.

“Rumor” and “Would’ve Happened by Now” are both dreamy electro psych tunes that drift at a leisurely pace, and will fare well in my psychedelic psummer pop playlists. Had Kevin Parker kept his focus on this kind of songwriting craft rather than getting lost in the EDM weeds, Deadbeat (2025) would have been exponentially better. “Ejecta 1 & 2” is a short instrumental track with atmospheric electronics that could fit on a Steve Hillage album, build into a lovely, mournful guitar solo. Their first single “Moving Through A Dream” kicks off with a sticky vocal chorus melody, but grows fangs with some hard hitting drums and smashing power chords. “Which is to Blame?” might have been in danger of being an ordinary synthpop tune, but it’s elevated with yet another stunning guitar solo. They invited psych guitar god-hero Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless, Golden Void) to bring the frenetic synth prog of closing track “Face to Face” home with one last killer solo. Listen up bands — keep practicing your guitar chops! Guitars may come in and out of fashion, but performances like this increases the chances at timelessness (that’s “unputdownable” for you booktube nerds).

Recommended for not only heavy psych heads and fans of the above mentioned bands, but also the likes of Daft Punk, M83 and Mildlife.