Grizzled guitar riffs, straightforward lyricism, and songs with teeth are strong identifiers of Minnesota garage-rocker Monica LaPlante. Maximizing the pandemic to creatively explore and expand her writing by dusting off vintage drum machines and wacky synthesizers , LaPlante’s newest EP Quarantine is a nuanced shift in pushing some boundaries. Her single “Compression” exemplifies the importance for visuals with a Twin Peaks stylized black, white, and red striped cinematic video. Understanding that vision and where it originates from starts back with growing up in Rochester, Minnesota.
Inundated into a Catholic school where uniform, uniform, uniform was protocol, Monica slowly pushed back when she started high school. It was tough as a teenager with a dress code of no jeans and a branded collar shirt, but it was just enough rules to worm her way around them. This meant finding weird, wacky clothing to see how to bend that dress code. She tried dying her hair a couple times and got a stern talking to and deadline to change it back. But she kept pushing and eventually succeeded with purple extensions that were just disguised enough that you didn’t really notice them. Tie that look in with spooky heavy eyeliner, and Monica found the right balance of self expression with rules. That seeped into clothing choices as well. She wore a giant hoodie and attached a bunch of patches to it. She learned you could get away with a lot of things by just putting a patch on something or stitching it to your backpack. These small details were a flair of rebellion and personal expression.
“We just went to thrift stores a lot because we were all a bunch of just dumb high school kids with disposable income from our jobs. So we would buy weird clothes.
I remember having this like dolphin t-shirt that I really loved that I got from the Savers. It just said, "this could be their last wave goodbye" and it was very, I mean, there was an environmental meaning to it, but it was also very ominous. And I loved wearing that shirt.”
-Monica LaPlante
Monica felt out of place in Rochester with her weird style. Her move to the Twin Cities and attending McNally Smith College of Music was a huge shift as that unique style now felt normal when surrounded by other musicians. The stress of moving and being in a new place took its toll with her by hitting a fashion wall. Creatively she was engrossed more on music than style.
Then one day she was waiting at McNally, wearing a giant sweatshirt and yoga pants, when a classmate walked by with a snide remark of ‘you look comfortable.’ The tone of the remark stung. She was so focused on school that she forgot to present herself. Eventually she landed an internship at a recording studio and knew that she couldn’t look like a schlub in front of clients. That got her back into being cognizant of her look.
Wearing red became her staple color due to the way it pops against her blue undertone skin complexion. But she also subconsciously blames the White Stripes, which she listened to a ton in high school. The red and white theme seeped in and the trademark Jack White color palette became so iconic. She’s noticed when visiting Third Man Records, the reds are all the same red, the yellows all the yellow. There’s uniformity everywhere. It makes Monica think of the movie Dick Tracy and how there’s one set of blue, one set of red, and this consistent color palette that ties through the entire film.
“I think that stuff is kind of interesting and it’s almost in a way, like a comfort uniform or a good fallback where you know what you look good in red. It pops. And it keeps me from wearing black all the time,” she chuckles.
Although she went through a prime Hot Topic phase, she also listened to a lot of The Ronettes and was told in college she looked like Amy Winehouse, which ironically was doing the same Ronettes cat eye makeup look. Monica has this Zooey Deschanel, 60’s, long skirts, mod dresses and Twiggy makeup blend that is genuinely hers. Influenced by Camera Obscura and Belle & Sebastian, she pulls in elements from those groups as well but ultimately leans towards thick B&W stripes and patterns that always go with a solid block of red.
“I listened to a lot of things that a lot of Catholic people disapproved of, but for some reason they really liked “Modern Love” by David Bowie. It was kind of just a jumpy little number and because there's that line where he goes "Church on time" and they're like, yeah, okay, church.
And I was like, okay, listen to the rest of the song. "Don't believe in God and men." I remember that being such a big song that I would just play in high school driving around in my Pontiac Bonneville and everyone's like, well, this is the lesser offensive thing she's listening to.”
-Monica LaPlante
Monica’s wearing Red Wing boots that she received right when everything shut down. She played a live music showcase for the company that although they couldn’t pay her, offered to compensate in boots. She immediate went for the Classic Chelsea boot that hearkens back to the Beatle Boot, a modified take that the Beatles commissioned back in 1961. Since they are Red Wing boots, they should last for a very long time and remain a comfortable shoe that she can wear almost every day.
The solid red pants came from a trip to New York where she purposefully packed light, knowing she’d find some good stuff. These were found in a store called Manhattan Thrift in the very back corner. She only spotted them due to the color. Currently in a trouser phase, they fit perfectly and found a place in her suitcase immediately.
Every outfit has a black undershirt or tank top because it layers so well. In a practical sense, it also gives her a quick way to pull off layers to remain cool on stage. This one in particular was found when they played a vintage market at CHS Field. The red and white striped shirt came from an old coworker that she used to work with at a restaurant in South Minneapolis. They used to go thrifting together to find unique patterns and polyester seventies shirts. She loves the pointed dagger collars that have that little weight metal in them.
The bracelet comes from a close friend in Seattle that makes chain mail jewelry called Ministry of Metal. She used to have a similar black chain mail necklace that she lost. To her the bracelet is a throwback to those jelly plastic weavy necklaces from the 80’s that people would attach charms to. She always likes to wear one good ring, but errors on simplicity due to the wear and tear playing guitar has on her nails and jewelry.
Finally, the scarf has been with her for many years and the simple flower pattern goes with everything. Comically she’s lost and found this so many times. Once she found it blowing down the street, another it was caught in a fence, and another time found it in a chunk of snow by where she parked her car. She jokes that she can’t lose the thing even if she tried.
Since her 2013 debut Jour, a 60’s inspired bright indie-pop album, Monica LaPlante has darkened her sound and pushed the boundaries with her music. The 2016 hit “Hope You’re Alone” expanded her writing and breaking away from by-the-book syllabic-ally rhymes. The progression continued with a more balanced release of “Tinted Light” and “Opposite Sides” in 2019. Both feel like a more concentrated sonic direction brimming with confidence of settling into a sound. There’s still that tingle of the “wall of sound” Phil Specter and the chugging of The Strokes, with an overall swagger of those early girl groups. The recent release of Quarantine expands the earlier releases with more electronic elements. Much like her past in clothing, Monica continues to find details and ways to push the rules and explore different sounds in the music.
Her sound draws from that cinematic appreciation of using uniformed palettes that help tell a story. Colors in movies can elicit psychological reactions, draw focus to significant details, set the tone of the song, and represent character traits. From classic Wes Anderson, to Stanley Kubrick, to even Quentin Tarantino, colors are a huge element. Visually, Monica thrives in this vein. The music video for “Compression” combines her sharp-edged sound with a sin-a-matic push against uniformity. This continues into “Do It Clean”, her cover of the Echo & the Bunnymen. Slightly darker with thicker lines, Monica paints the song her own.
Her closet has a lot clothes from an LA company called Fashion Brand Company and Straight To Hell branded clothing that bathe in these characteristics. These brands carry that attitude, authenticity, and character in the seams of every piece. It’s made to be worn on stage, scrapping your nail polish off on the strings of the guitar, while wearing dagger earrings from a vending machine.
“There's so many things that I've tried to buy that was a little tight in the waist or it's a little weird in the shoulders and I'll just deal with it. Usually I just end up toddler-tantruming it off after an hour or two.”
-Monica LaPlante
Monica has remained a proponent for thrifting from her earlier discoveries in Rochester. During the pandemic her boyfriend and her were selling vintage clothes online. She was going to estate sales, thrifting, and camping in their van all across Wisconsin, finding little unusual stores and clothing. All these little acquired things that were found scattered across the stores and state, found new homes online and redistributed. For Monica, she doesn’t have to look at the clothes to know quality. She can feel down the line of clothes to know immediately if it’s made of plastic, polyester, or something thicker. Quality is found first in that touch, then if it fits, finds a home on stage. She discloses her closet is filled with lots of sparkles, lots of velvet, and lots of stripe combinations.
As a band they do spend time texting back and forth before a gig. Bassist Christy Costello and her will often similar, but opposite looks, while guitarist Orion Treon typically wearing some sort of western shirt. Drummer Austin Cecil leans towards the classic black look. Strangely enough, when they don’t communicate in advance, they usually end up all kind of matching anyways. That’s the true definition of a close knit band, where you all feel the direction of the music and carry those same stylistic flavors. It’s one type of uniformity that Monica doesn’t push back on.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Monica LaPlante and all the topics we mentioned above.
Monica LaPlante website - Instagram - “Compression” music video - Branding of Third Man Records - Straight to Hell Apparel - Red Wing Shoes - Ministry of Metal - Fashion Brand Company
