The Sage Motel album announcement came in March with a video for the first single “Warpaint.”
Today, Bay Area-based Monophonics released their new full-length Sage Motel via Colemine Records. The world's premier psychedelic soul band, Monophonics cordially invites you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel.
A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive without ever knowing how they got there. It's where individuals find themselves at a crossroads in life. The Sage Motel album announcement came in March with a video for the first single "Warpaint."
What started as a quaint motor lodge and a common pitstop for travelers and truckers in the 1940s, Sage Motel morphed into a bohemian's hang by the 1960s and 1970s. Artists, musicians, and vagabonds of all types would stop there as seedy ownership pumped obnoxious amounts of money into high end renovations, eventually attracting some of the most prominent acts of the era. But when the money ran out, The Sage Motel devolved into a place where you rent by the hour.
Sage Motel, Monophonics' fifth studio album since 2012, tells its story. Once again produced by brilliant bandleader Kelly Finnigan, the album captures a timeless sound that blends heavy soul with psych-rock. With their previous album, It's Only Us, selling over 10,000 physical units and garnering over 20 million streams, Monophonics have built a reputation over the past decade as one of the most impactful bands in the country.
It's Only Us was praised by Billboard, FLOOD, Cool Hunting, and American Songwriter, who said "Take some Norman Whitfield-era Temptations, add Sly and the Family Stone circa There's a Riot Goin' On's greasy funk, inject early 70s Curtis Mayfield Superfly, Marvin Gaye vocal dynamics and Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul dust, sprinkle in a pinch of Isley Brothers' silky ballads and you've got a reasonable aural idea of the ballpark Monophonics are playing in."
If these walls of the Sage Motel could talk, this is what they'd say. So join us as we examine where the stories are told and experiences unfold.....and sink into a soft pillow of soulful psychedelia.....down at the Sage Motel.
Listen to the new album here:
Videos