Biography
Matthew Mondanile, cofounder of the Ridgewood, New Jersey indie outfit Real Estate and its beach-oriented sound, operates Ducktails as an individual outlet. His work under that name explores a more fractured and shifting take on the same New Jersey sensibility. Early releases came quickly and sometimes seemed elusive, encompassing many limited cassettes and CD-Rs, two 7-inch singles, and two formal long-players—the self-titled set on Not Not Fun and Landscapes on Olde English Spelling Bee—all issued by 2009.
Alongside activity in Predator Vision and the Parasails, Mondanile issued a split with Dracula Lewis in 2010 and then Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics in 2011. That record adopted a stripped-down method and signaled a clear stylistic shift. When The Flower Lane appeared on Domino Recordings in 2013, Mondanile had moved still farther from lo-fi origins, enlisting a full band to shape conventional, subdued pop. The five-track Wish Hotel EP followed later the same year and maintained that refined approach, as did the 2015 album St. Catherine. Producer Rob Schnapf, previously associated with Elliott Smith and Beck, added warmth and definition to Mondanile’s introspective psychedelic material, while James Ferraro and Julia Holter contributed guest performances.
After departing Real Estate as lead guitarist in 2016, Mondanile returned the next year with Jersey Devil on his own New Images imprint. Recording began in Los Angeles and concluded following his return to Ridgewood; collaborators included co-producer John Anderson, whose prior credits encompass Girls and Nick Waterhouse, plus Parasol’s Chi Yoon Hae, who traveled from South Korea to handle bass.
Alongside activity in Predator Vision and the Parasails, Mondanile issued a split with Dracula Lewis in 2010 and then Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics in 2011. That record adopted a stripped-down method and signaled a clear stylistic shift. When The Flower Lane appeared on Domino Recordings in 2013, Mondanile had moved still farther from lo-fi origins, enlisting a full band to shape conventional, subdued pop. The five-track Wish Hotel EP followed later the same year and maintained that refined approach, as did the 2015 album St. Catherine. Producer Rob Schnapf, previously associated with Elliott Smith and Beck, added warmth and definition to Mondanile’s introspective psychedelic material, while James Ferraro and Julia Holter contributed guest performances.
After departing Real Estate as lead guitarist in 2016, Mondanile returned the next year with Jersey Devil on his own New Images imprint. Recording began in Los Angeles and concluded following his return to Ridgewood; collaborators included co-producer John Anderson, whose prior credits encompass Girls and Nick Waterhouse, plus Parasol’s Chi Yoon Hae, who traveled from South Korea to handle bass.
Albums
