A full band. A full house.

Matt Mondanile celebrated the release of his great new album The Flower Lane at Le Poisson Rouge Wednesday night.

Mondanile goes by the stage name Ducktails. He performed The Flower Lane in sequence from top to bottom and closed the show with two older tunes (Sit Around With Ya and Killin’ The Vibe).

The 70-minute show on a frigid night in New York City was packed. The stage was “in-the-round” which brought the crowd real close to the performers. There was a house party feel to it. There was a good amount of dancing. Aside from the core band of four other members, Mondanile rotated in several other guests who made vocal or instrumental contributions on the record. It was fifteen bucks to get in.

The Flower Lane was recorded at Gary’s Electric in Greenpoint. It’s the same studio Peaking Lights made their technically proficient and well-received record Lucifer at.

Mondanile uses electronic sounds to great effect. Before playing “Letter of Intent” late in the set, he urged the sound man positioned above and behind him to crank up the drum machine sampler that sets the song in motion. Said Mondanile: “We’re not gonna start playing it until the drum machine is really loud. A lot louder please. A lot louder. As loud as you can make it please. Don’t start (directed at the band). Way louder please.”

The drum sequence from Letter is reminiscent of Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More.” But once the tune starts, it’s jazzy, dreamy disco pop. Celebrating her 28th birthday, Jessa Farkus (Future Shuttle) stepped on stage to deliver her prominent vocal part on the song. Her lines include a Woody Allen reference. It’s a great tune on a record loaded with them.

It seems like the only way my narrow focus on a certain kind of indie rock gets expanded is when a guy like Mondanile pulls me in that direction. What he’s doing is so varied stylistically. Flower Lane is interesting and appealing but I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to it if it weren’t for catchy, guitar-based indie ditties like Rhubarb Girl and Hamilton Road laying the foundation for my dedication to Ducktails. What really sealed it was when Mondanile performed the Peter Gutteridge song Planet Phrom on day two of the 2012 Woodsist Fest under brilliant sunshine. Phrom is included on Flower Lane.

The LP record format of Flower Lane I got in the mail is heavy-duty, heavy-weight vinyl. The dust sleeve has song lyrics on one side and head shots of all those who participated in making the record on the other. The album packaging appears to be made with light recycled cardboard and the cover is a letter-pressed picture that resembles a checkered flag.

Ducktails do a short European tour next month and will appear at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on April 2.