Monarch

San Antonio artist Nicolette Good released her first full-length album, Monarch, which was recorded in Austin at Ramble Creek Studio and includes songs Marathon, Son of My Sister, Call Me, and Pretty Clementine. Good produced the CD along with engineer and instrumentalist Britton Beisenherz and guitarist Jesse Basham in a collaboration that is at once haunting, adventurous and sweet. Good found Ramble Creek by tracing the breadcrumbs from favorite albums back to Beisenherz. Under his creative direction, Good evolved from her singer-songwriter roots to push the boundaries between traditional Americana and indie-infused textures. The title track, Monarch tells of a pauper who thinks he is a king, confusing the usual notions of power. Other people and places on the album are dealing with metaphorical monarchs; sometimes they themselves are in power, sometimes not. The album is a strong representation of Good's songwriting over the past two years. The Road is the oldest tune in her repertoire, while she didn't finish writing Monarch until hours before recording it. Finding inspiration in Ramble Creek's collection of vintage gear and unlikely instruments, the trio performed everything from a microKORG, to a music box, to a cat toy when building the songs. Broadening her palate since her self-titled EP in 2011, Good also incorporated banjo, piano, organ, double bass, pedal steel and subtle guitar effects. Contributing musicians brought depth and power to the soundscape, including percussionist Jon Greene (Matt the Electrician), bassist and pedal steel player Jesse Ebaugh (Heartless Bastards), clarinetist Jonathan Doyle (White Ghost Shivers), organist Oscar Interiano and cellist Steve Bernal (Monte Montgomery).