Monotonic

Biography

Monotonic brings together three musicians from a golden era of Perth music. In the mid-90s Ammonia, Header and Yummy Fur made their mark on the alt-nation of the time with high rotation triple j airplay, appearances on ABC-TV’s Saturday morning show Recovery and exhaustive east coast and overseas touring. Alan Balmont (drums), Jack Lucas (guitar) and Liam Coffey (vocals, bass) spent 2024 putting together the suite of songs that would end up as Monotonic’s debut album, Heavy Metal — a cocktail of sonic poetry and melodic sensibility, and a heady melange of such disparate influences as Acid Rock, early 70s Dub and Psychedelic Motorik-Drone revival. But definitely not Heavy Metal.

Signing to bespoke independent label and music licensing agency Hidden Shoal in early 2025, Monotonic are set to release their first single, The Purple Chords Play Belle Fourche, in advance of the full album release later this year.

The album opens with a sci-fi-shogaze-garage outing titled Super Montgolfier Brothers, preparing the groundwork for the curved, hallucinogenic airspace of a globe aérostatique. This segues into the phazed frequency fuzz of the filthy garage plainchant soul-kebab anthem Elvis, You Asshole—possibly the first (and hopefully, the last) song to ever reference a throwaway line from Jim Jarmusch’s classic Memphis musing, Mystery Train. The aforementioned Belle Fourche follows, Monotonic’s minimalist psych odyssey debut single, accompanied by a dazzling Dada/Surrealist/Bauhaus-referencing video created by NZ/Perth photographer and filmmaker Elliot Ramsay.

Side 1 closes out with the appropriately surreal 4.00 am fugue feel of Lazers At Dawn; side 2 opens with the photosynthetic acid-trip transmission breakdown of I Am The Only Running Footman. The bass-led atmospherics and variegated harmonies of the segued, crossblind sixth and seventh tracks, Rosa Kreisler/Heavy Metal, then gives way to the future retro chic with an unforgiving backbeat of instrumental album closer, Grytviken ’70.

To close with an appropriately pretentious paraphrasing of James Joyce: we hear in a profound ancient unfamiliar melody the accumulation of the past.

News

• Monotonic ‘The Purple Chords Play Belle Fourche’ Single

  Hidden Shoal is excited to announce the release of the debut single from Perth-based experimental psych outfit Monotonic. ‘The Purple Chords Play Belle Fourche’ is lifted from their forthcoming album “Heavy Metal”, due out in 2026. The single is accompanied by a wild Video by Perth-based video artist and photographer Elliot Ramsey. The track is available to stream on all the usual services. The music of Monotonic is available for licensing via Hidden Shoal (film, tv, web games etc). Check here for more details.

  “The track itself is a gloriously murky affair. It’s all fuzzed-out wizardry and lethargic acid rock, creating a soundscape utterly drenched in a thick haze of psychedelic dissonance. The rhythm section is the solid anchor: Alan Balmont’s drums march along, almost begrudgingly, yet holding the essential pulse for Jack Lucas’s hypnotic guitar work (complete with electric bouzouki flourishes) and Liam Coffey’s melodic bass. Coffey’s vocals weave themselves through the colossal sonic architecture, effectively taking on the role of a fourth instrumental texture rather than leading the charge.” – Broken 8

  Monotonic was formed during the pandemic by veterans of Perth’s golden alt-rock era: Liam Coffey (Header, The Slow Beings), Allan Balmont (Ammonia), and Jack Lucas (Yummy Fur/Six Mile High). Reuniting decades after their respective bands made waves in the ’90s, the three longtime friends found a fresh creative spark in loose jam sessions that continued to evolve into something greater than intended. Jams turned into songs, and while there were no initial plans to record, they became so committed to the music they were creating that an album eventually became an inevitability.

  

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Reviews

• Monotonic ‘The Purple Chords Play Belle Fourche’ Featured at Broken 8

  “Perth’s alt-rock veterans are back, but not in the way you might expect. Monotonic, a freshly minted experimental psych outfit, are gearing up to unleash their mind-bending debut single, ‘The Purple Chords Play Belle Fourche’, premiering today on ahead of its official 14th November release via the esteemed independent label Hidden Shoal.

  The track itself is a gloriously murky affair. It’s all fuzzed-out wizardry and lethargic acid rock, creating a soundscape utterly drenched in a thick haze of psychedelic dissonance. The rhythm section is the solid anchor: Alan Balmont’s drums march along, almost begrudgingly, yet holding the essential pulse for Jack Lucas’s hypnotic guitar work (complete with electric bouzouki flourishes) and Liam Coffey’s melodic bass. Coffey’s vocals weave themselves through the colossal sonic architecture, effectively taking on the role of a fourth instrumental texture rather than leading the charge.

  This heady, immersive fusion calls on the collective wisdom of pioneers across genres. It skillfully draws a line connecting early 70s dub masters like Lee Perry and King Tubby with space rock behemoths such as Hawkwind and Tractor, and the minimalist drone of outfits like Spacemen 3 and Wooden Shjips. The resulting sound is a cosmic journey delivered via the grubbiest, most compelling rehearsal room floor.

  Monotonic’s genesis is rooted in the pandemic, bringing together Coffey (Header), Balmont (Ammonia), and Lucas (Yummy Fur/Six Mile High) decades after their original bands made waves in the ’90s. The three longtime friends initially planned nothing more than loose jam sessions, but the music they created proved too committed, too compelling, for an album not to become an inevitability.

  Vocalist and bassist Liam Coffey notes the philosophical shift inherent in their new direction: “It feels like a luxury to be able to record music that doesn’t privilege vocals over other instruments or attach prescriptive meaning to lyrics,” he explains. “It allows sufficient time and space for one or two-chord progression songs to really settle into a groove.”

  This devotion to atmospheric expansion is reflected in the single’s wonderfully bleak title. It was inspired by the geographical fact that Belle Fourche, South Dakota, is the closest town to the physical centre of the United States. This seemingly mundane detail sparked an imaginary, melancholic narrative about a third-rate sixties psych band on a shoestring winter tour, traversing a series of indifferent Midwestern bars—a perfect metaphor for their outsider sound.

  Recorded in 2024 at Aerial Recording in the Perth Hills, the track was engineered and mixed by Ronan Charles, with Liam Coffey handling the production duties. Crucially, the final touch was provided by mastering engineer Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios, whose impeccable pedigree includes work for UK giants like Joy Division, Mogwai, Blur, and Scott Walker. Arkwright’s involvement guarantees a sonic quality that belies the track’s hazy aesthetic, turning Monotonic’s debut into a masterclass in slow-burn psychedelic power.”

  – Broken 8

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Artist Photos

Music Videos

Licensing

The music of Monotonic is available for licensing (master & sync cleared) through Hidden Shoal. Please contact us with some basic details about your project and the track(s) you wish to use and we’ll be sure to get back to you straight away.