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Mountain Con, Sancho Panza

by Lauren Baggett
02/06/2008

Seattle band Mountain Con decided to go it alone a few years ago when they parted with their record label. Now the group has emerged, independent, with its fifth album, Sancho Panza, bringing to its listeners a distinctive mash-up of rock and hip-hop style.

When they scored a major record deal, the guys of Mountain Con thought they had made it, but were soon fed up with the music business. Tired of wasting valuable studio time on the shelf and ignored, Mountain Con split from their big-time LA label planning to take their album into their own hands.

So they did. The band built a new studio in a warehouse in Seattle’s industrial district where it recorded, mixed and produced Sancho Panza on its own.

The album’s sound, which features guitar, bass, keyboard, drums and a DJ, is a well-crafted mix of old and new. Folk rock melodies back vocals that resemble the husky personality of Bob Dylan at times and the rap-sing style of the Beastie Boys at others.

If you’re a lyric person, this band offers a new set of creative and offbeat gems. You can rap to yourself or sing to the top of your lungs about topics ranging from Roman emperors to house parties to space.

Mountain Con vocalist James Nugent has said that rock of the future will sound like Mountain Con. He may have a point. No one can deny the success of remixes - adding a fast tempo beat to a hit pop or rock song. This usually transforms the old record into a club hit.

Then there’s the recent success of producers like Timbaland who have introduced some hip-hop flavor to the sounds of artists like Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, launching their careers into the stratosphere.

Is Mountain Con the sound of the future? It’s questionable. Though the album has an original sound that would set it apart from your usual rock diet, only a few tracks have memorable melodies. But those tracks are truly outstanding.

Mountain Con’s fresh style has the potential to take listeners by storm, but for now this high-energy band just needs to be patient.

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