 |
Red Monkey & !!! Gun
Powder, Treason, and Plot Non-Local
Artists |
|
|
I
don’t know how to write. I don’t know very much about music.
All right, I just wanted to throw out that pair of disclaimers before
I proceed to unleash my opinion on the world (or all seven people who
read this). Before you get enraged about my ignorant observations about
bands in a genre I obviously don’t know that much about, please
know I’m aware of this and I’m just giving my immediate impressions.
So without further ado, this is what I think about the new stuff from
Red Monkey and !!!. The
new Red Monkey album, “Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot,” was
initially one of the coolest sounding records I’ve heard in a long
time. However, I think they could do better. If I were a high school
guidance counselor I would say that they’re not living up to their
full potential. Red Monkey’s sound is impossible for me to pigeonhole
at all – a lot of staccato guitar and drum rhythms, with the vocals
spoken in a kind of hypnotic drone. No, that doesn’t do it justice,
you just have to hear it. The
problem I have with some of the songs is that they tend to hit upon
a cool sound and repeat that cool sound for about three minutes. That’s
a bit of an exaggeration, but sometimes they stick to it just a little
too long and it becomes kind of droning. “Bloody Mary” is
probably the prime culprit here; even the hand-claps don’t save
it. I know. I’m an ignorant bastard who could never understand
the genius of it. They’re kind of like the Mark Rothko of music
for me. I’m pretty sure there’s something wonderful going
on in there, but I can’t quite grasp the fullness of it. Along
with the music, the way Pete and Rachel sing is very detached to the
point that it kind of takes away from the power of their words. The
lyrics tend toward abstracted political themes – they’re pretty
clever, but sometimes the socialist idealism goes a little overboard,
i.e., “Not Certain, Positive” (“How you gonna tame us,
50,000 mice?). “The Jazz Step Forwards” and “Essential
Nutrients” are both great songs lyrically, and they don’t
seem so detached. On the whole, the songs are sometimes almost (dare
I say it!) catchy, but they always retreat back into an aloof, trance-like
repetition of rhythms and words. Well,
since I have completely failed to make sense of Red Monkey, I think
I’ll move over to the “shallow end” of the pool, and
talk about the new !!! (pronounced “Chick Chick Chick”). This
album is the complete antithesis of Red Monkey. You couldn’t wish
for a more indulgent, catchy, party-ready record than this. !!! is what
every crappy frat-rock band wishes it could be – a good time you
don’t have to be ashamed of in the morning. The music is like a
crazy indie-disco funk whirlwind that never slows down through seven
marvelous tracks. They take themselves refreshingly lightly, especially
in songs like “Feel Good Hit of the Fall” and “KooKooKa
Fuk-U.” The hand-claps during “Intensify” provide what
must surely be the guilty alone-in-the-living-room pleasure of the year.
Can you dig it? That’s really all I have to say, if you disagree, please feel free to viciously insult me and start a lively debate on the message board – God knows we need something to discuss besides our lovely Meredith for a change.
|
||