Nerdkween: Looks preppy, sounds post-modern

You can’t judge a book by its cover. But Monica Arrington will gladly use her inviting looks to sell her music. Arrington finished her second demo as Nerdkween this past September. And she’s ready to try her hand at modeling as an easy way to pay the bills while she continues chasing down a music career.

Arrington, who works days at Pearl Artist & Craft Supply, comes off like the J. Crew/JCPenney type — preppy and nice. But her music isn’t necessarily so. “[Preppy] is part of my personality, but I have a definite wild streak,” she says. “That’s why I identify with the dark horse. I’m a person that nobody knows too much about at first glance.”

The Dark Horse is the title of her most recent demo, a collection of six dreamy keyboard-and-guitar soundscapes reminiscent of PJ Harvey and early Liz Phair. The music is ripened by Arrington’s classically trained voice, which, at certain moments, sounds like it might shatter — or shatter something. This demo follows I See Things Differently Now, which received local radio play last year.

For Arrington, her music is a reflection of her life, offering hints to what lies behind her misleading countenance. “It’s very cryptic. I like to consider it post-modern pop music,” she says. “I like to throw in little pieces of different styles, like country and jazz, and mix it up into this one form.”

Arrington’s ultimate dream? To have her own label and produce. Until then, look for her in those JCPenney ads.??