Mons La Hire has been crafting tuneful independent rock since 2015, when Daniel (guitar / vocals) and Suzanne (bass / vocals) started the band in Corvallis, OR. The band draws inspiration from alternative acts both new (Japanese Breakfast, Courtney Barnett, Ezra Furman) and old (the Strokes, Wilco, and Elvis Costello) in order to craft a sound that is wholly their own. The band has released two albums and three EPs and regularly performs up and down the Willamette Valley. Their newest album, Retire the Modern Self was released in June 2022.

Reviews and press
Warning Lights EP Review – Johnny Beaver (The Corvallis Advocate)
Music To Be Heard – Samantha Lopez (Oregon State University Barometer)
Expanding Music Scene – Samantha Lopez (Oregon State University Barometer)

History

Mons La Hire’s debut album, An Ad Hoc Ecosystem, was released on March 1, 2016. The album was composed in response to the RPM Challenge, that is, the album was composed and recorded solely during the month of February. The lyrics are a collage of phrases from books and other print materials ranging from Billy Collins’ poetry and Ray Bradbury’s prose to the comedic adventure stories of Daniel Pinkwater.

The follow-up to An Ad Hoc Ecosystem, the Warning Lights EP, arrived on May 19, 2017. It features live favorites Timothy Everett (Is Late For Work) and Parallels,  a new power pop version of the Garden (which originally appeared on An Ad Hoc Ecosystem), and three brand new songs: Moriah (in the Land of Milk and Honey), Rumors, and Warning Lights. Ida Jane and Julia Miller joined the band just prior to the release of Warning Lights.

Work on the follow up to Warning Lights began in April 2018. The EP Kind of Neutral, Kind of Blue was released on CD and cassette on October 26, 2018. Most of it was recorded at Western Oregon University by Cole Johnston, with supplementary recording done at Daniel’s house in Corvallis. The first track, “Waking Up in Oregon”, by Ida Jane, was the #1 played song on KBVR 88.7 Corvallis for Fall 2018.

The EP Lucky to Be Alive arrived August 15th. Recorded in Daniel and Suzanne’s living room by Sam Lay using his mobile recording studio, the EP features live favorites “Lucky” and “Don’t Waste My Time” as well as a brand-new song, “No Promised Land,” featuring Daniel with a solo piano accompaniment, and a driving cover of the Beatle’s classic “I’m So Tired” with Julia on lead vocal.

Ida and Julia left the band in fall 2019 in order to pursue new projects (Ida Jane and the Weekend Gardeners and Diner Breakfast, respectively). Ida Jane’s debut album, Through Glass We See, was recorded by Daniel over the course of a year and released by La Lune on September 16, 2019.

Plans for a 2020 album release were shelved due to the reason everyone else’s plans were canceled in that year. The bizarre mood of a global pandemic and historic wildfires in western Oregon, combined with Daniel trying to finish a climate science degree, led to the writing and recording of the album Retire the Modern Self. The album’s themes of ambiguity and alienation, trying to find hope in all the mess, and recalibrating the sense of self are all closely entwined with the band’s experiences through those years.

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