Sometimes a track falls into my hands that feels like it was meant to be and "Queens" by NYC based quintet MisterWives is one of them. I received it in the midst of a major move and wrote the review surrounded by boxes, rolled up posters and bare walls. That isn't what the song is about, in vocalist Mandy Lee's case it depicts her childhood in Queens but leaving a life behind is what it meant to me. But therein lies the makings of a good song since music is so much more a feel than just words and Lee's are known to rival pop-ska superstar Gwen Stefani's. You have to respect any writer who can make "My Queens is a queen," work because it can be something different for everyone.
The track tells her story in a sentimental (but surprisingly) uplifting way, the perfect blend of funk and soul that expresses her "little girl with big dreams in a big city" past. Our exclusive release of the track comes the day before their full length LP ironically entitled Our Own House is available everywhere. While many groups would have traveled to a more exotic location the group, comprised of vocalist Lee, Etienne Bowler on drums, William Heir on bass, Marc Campbell on guitar and Jesse Blum on keys, trumpet and accordion traveled not that far upstate to record. They truly went back to the basics, writing songs in a tree house with the inspiration of "the Bronx turned into Narnia," as Lee put it. And maybe a little fantasy mixed with a good dose of reality is what we all need to leave parts of our lives behind.
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