MONA LEE – Sense Of Control (2022)
Hailing from a not so common place for Rock N’ Roll – Gauteng, South Africa – MONA LEE is a young female singer / songwriter releasing this album titled ”Sense Of Control”. Mona Lee joined the music scene in 2001, when she started out doing backing vocals and harmonies for other musicians in South Africa. She then went to the USA in 2005 and joined a rock band as a vocalist, took lessons and gained experience in the live circuit.
Upon her return to South Africa, she has performed numerous solo shows and appeared at festivals around the country, until started her band called For Sale, writing and performing original English rock songs.
Also known as ‘Mona-Lee & The Band For Sale’, the group composed and recorded several demos inspired by the classic hard rock sound & style from American / British acts. And that’s what we hear on ”Sense Of Control”.
Most of these songs were written / recorded years ago at different sessions, however production is homogeneous and always with a ‘vintage’ feeling, with straight-from-the-amp guitars and no trickery, electronics, etc.
This is classic female-fronted hard / melodic rock with occasional AOR touches in the vein of If Only, Pat Benatar, Jackie Bodimead, etc, with Mona’s husky, sexy voice which recalls a lot a young Robin Beck.
We hear a very nice collection of rockers like I Walk Alone, Screaming Roulette, Dark Train, Valentine – all well written songs with an ’80s feel, not that glossy, just rockin’ melodic.
As said production is good, old fashioned, and there’s the charm of it. One could ask for a more varied guitar work but the focus here are Mona’s vocals, and she does a really enjoyable performance all over the LP.
Highly Recommended
01 – Just Go Away
02 – I Walk Alone
03 – Screaming Roulette
04 – Candy Apple
05 – Skin Deep
06 – Dark Train
07 – Giving Roses
08 – Valentine
09 – Bloody Fool
10 – Fallen Angel
11 – Five Words
12 – Lost Soul
Mona-Lee “Peaches” Gerber (lead vocals)
Cobus Gerber (lead guitar)
Herman Olivier (guitar, acoustic guitar)
Cobus Burger (bass)
Ricky Swart “Rixi-Stix” (drums)
BUY
www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9C8W2V6
