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ISSUE #77 part
2
Aug.
'05
“The
16-wheeler’s air horn
pierced the crisp morning air as the driver checked his watch yet
again. God help us all
if the truckload of pork chops didn’t make it to the docks by
9:15.
Whose
meal would be hot and steaming then? O brave yet ignorant swine, who
gave their lives to
harden the arteries of the youth of tomorrow’s Oklahoma…
Rory tensed, sensing a greater-than-average amount of broken glass
shards and roofing
nails littering the road ahead…”
(The cover depicts that
overturned truck and the tons of pork chops tossed
from the rig.)
We don’t get to hear those words from the “Mold Monkies
Theme” until the 5th
song, until we have been properly introduced
to Nicholas Appleby & Russell Shaddox, who are totally and
completely The Mold Monkies. This
duo has written, played,
recorded, and engineered one of the most complete overviews of the
English New Wave
invasion of America
during the ‘80s. And they’ve done it in a modern
upscale
fashion, incorporating the ‘90s Alt. pop and ‘00s
indiepop sounds into a flowing
manifest of what at one time would’ve been hit single after
hit single.
Blending the meat of
post punk
crunch with catchy ear candy pop, The Mold
Monkies cover more territory in the first
4 songs than most bands do in a career. No
No No No kicks with teen angst in an
absolutely roaring wave of guitar
screams and Post-punk, Punk – Jump up and punch something or
somebody to feel good,
or just slam dance – “It
doesn’t
matter anyway.” It may not be the real deal, but
it’s being relayed to us
through those who lived it. Little
House of Pain and End of the Show bring
out the pure pop, a
la Nick Lowe, Squeeze, The Jam, The Sorrows, Eddie & The Hot
Rods, and numerous other
New Wave Popsters, and they do it with aplomb. So slick, yet so cool,
sneaking in a Guided
By Voices filtered through Television style of ringing vocal and guitar
harmony, we
can’t help but pogo to the sing-a-long friendly choruses and
backing vocals –
“Oo lalala, Oo lalala”
- Both these
(break-up) songs could as easily find themselves on the soundtrack to
any number of
current network teen soaps (and that’s meant in an incredibly
good way), just as Nixon’s
Nose could turn up on a Dr. Demento LP (again,
meant in an incredibly good way).
Using the premise of cloning Nixon from his nose – “They’re cloning Nixon’s Nose /
They think we
need another Nixon, / I suppose.”
Dropped
smack dab into The Stranglers, London Punk scene, screaming guitar
chords slam the organ
as the vox stretches over the intense build of scattered distortion
using a lyrical prose
and play on words that would make Tom Lehrer smile.
Now picture a stage at
the far
end of the dance hall - 4 hipsters clad in
leather are laying down a bass and drum heavy ultra-modern groove. The
floor is packed and
moving to the intense backbeat of Out of Control. The guitar
waves and then jumps
in, ripping chords that give rise from the crowd, and we suddenly have
camera angles from
all over as the lights begin the slow strobe that lends itself to a bit
of the robot. What
we have is the perfect video song. The ripping chords subside, the
backbeat lurches
forward, the lead singer grabs the mic and lays it down
matter-of-factly, “Another insane
night / and I have you to thank / I
wonder what you’re thinking / and I come up blank,”
and now everyone is
jumping up and down in unison. Another verse with the camera bouncing
from the singer to
the guitarist, to the bass player to the drummer, to the crowd
– then comes the
Frankie Goes To Hollywood vocal manipulation and WOW, someone call
Franz Ferdinand: “Out of control /
yet so / eager to please / lie down
with dogs / you know / you get up with fleas / Out of control / yet so
/ eager to please /
You’re the same as me.” It’s
here that the camera’s focused into
the crowd and the beer soaked frenzy that is ensuing, as the bass and
drum backbeat
continue to ram it through the back walls of the dance hall. Double and
triple tracked
backing vocals bang the chorus home as the sweat and alcohol soaked
bodies surge with
abandon. The camera pulls back and we view the band from behind basking
in the thunderous
applause that accompanies the abrupt (yet fitting) ending. Hard to
believe only 2 guys
bring that much sound.
The
Mold Monkies then bring it
to life again on Life in the Big
City, which is given the same treatment,
but with a bit more structure. While Out of Control
always was on the verge, Life
in the Big City stays the course of
straight-ahead, ringing English post punk rock and power new wave pop.
It sets off running
and does not stop, from the double tracked vocals, and harmonic
Ahhh’s, to the
attention grabbing, breakdown of the middle drum and bass bridge, and
the jam smacking
torque of the lead guitar. This is Rock-n-Roll.
Laced with lyrics that
could
take top prize in a Brill
Building
songwriting (lyrics) competition, there are several more indie-pop gems
that lie awash in
3-chord progression. Spiced with organ and synth work that we have come
to identify with
the 80s New Wave movement, The Mold Monkies
work into these songs the 90’s Alt. signature ringing guitar
and chuggin’ bass
rhythms to bring a fresh ’00 sound to this classic formula.
These dozen plus songs
may not have made it to our table in time to be a hot and steaming main
course, but they
are a delicious confection to enjoy after stuffing ourselves full for
the past 3 decades.
It was time to overturn the truck and toss the pork from the rig.
O
Brave Yet Ignorant Swine,
“Monkey,
wanna, warm overripe
banana. Soft and icky, drip sticky on my shirt. Pork and candy, hot
guilty dreams of
Gandhi. Furry, moldy, soul food you sold me –
What’s for dessert?”
The
Mold Monkies.
O Brave Yet Ignorant
Swine
by The Mold Monkies
is available now for: $9.98 +
s/h*
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