From The Desk Of Ryan Monroe: Josh Roberts And The Hinges

Ryan Monroe hadn’t considered himself a control freak by nature. Then he found himself at Redstar Recording in Silver Lake, Calif., with its myriad instruments scattered around, just begging to be fiddled with. For a guy who can play just about anything, it was impossible to resist. So Monroe took a breather from his continuing role as the 34-year-old bastion of versatility in Band Of Horses to record A Painting Of A Painting On Fire (RCM). Monroe hopes to tour this summer behind A Painting before things get too busy with Band Of Horses, which is finishing its fourth album with producer Glyn Johns and eyeing a September release. Monroe will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on him.

Monroe: This is my favorite band. There aren’t many groups out there that play a festival like a bar gig and a bar gig like a festival, but Josh Roberts And The Hinges do exactly that. When the Hinges are onstage, I get the impression that they are the only people on earth who are aware of a missile headed toward the gig that will blow everyone to bits on the final, final chord of their set. It’s as if three men in suits and shades always come backstage five minutes before they go on and give them this classified information, and they are sworn to secrecy in order not to cause a panic. The Hinges are a warning of some sort; I can’t quite put a finger on it, and I fucking love it. Josh is a goose-bump-inducing songwriter, poet, guitar-slingin’ badass and inspires me to no end. The Hinges are the real deal, folks. Consider this is your first warning.

Video after the jump.