Bonnie & the Mere Mortals
Made up of four Pittsburgh musicians from vastly different backgrounds, Mere Mortals is the product of songwriter Bonnie Ramone’s attempt to rationalize the dichotomy of the farm in a backwoods coal town she grew up on with the Goth scene she used to “make it out” and into the city. Blending Appalachian folk with a mixture of New Wave, industrial, and shoegaze, Mere Mortals is self-described as “Southern Gothic.” The band is made up of guitarist and banjo player Bonnie, guitarist and synth player Destin LeCornu, upright bassist Mike Simms, and synth and beat maker Sam Phillips; all of them lending their own vocal stylings. Each musician adds their own unique flair to the juxtaposition of analog and digital that sounds fresh, yet catchy and eeriely familiar. After returning to songwriters like Gillian Welch, Bonnie realised Depeche Mode and Nick Cave might have more in common with Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash than one might think; Heartbreak, drugs, murder ballads, depression, love, the color black... the stories stay the same. This is an exploration of those stories and a homecoming.
http://www.bonnieandthemeremortals.bandcamp.com