SLCene Suggests: Cory Mon Release Party at Velour

CORY MON, VELOUR, Friday, March 14, 8 p.m., $10

Cory Mon’s 2011 release, Turncoats, was one of my favorite local albums that year, so I was excited to hear what he would come up with next. For North, being celebrated with a little release party action at Provo’s Velour Friday night, Mon traveled to Denver to record with a couple of “name” producers–only to realize that the ideas he worked out with buddies Wes Kirkpatrick and Dustin Christensen were more to his liking. The results are more stripped-down, perhaps, than his previous effort with band the Starlight Gospel, but the sound is still distinctly Mon, relying on his voice and guitar to get across winning songs like “Baby Maybe” and “Bring You Home.” The songs that ended up on North are the ones Mon considers the more “singer/songwriterish,” and some of the more raucous tracks he recorded in Denver will appear on an EP later this year. North will be available across the country on April 15, so consider this show a sneak peak. At Friday’s gig, he’ll be joined by Kirkpatrick, and Jessica Bassett will open.