Grape
Artist: 100 Monkeys
Label: independent 
URL http://www.100monkeysmusic.com
Time: 14 tracks / 59 mins

100 Monkeys have all the makings of a strong cult band (and would have even if Twilight actor Jackson Rathbone didn’t feature in their line-up). The songs on this début disc show that they have a distinct identity; while their dark humour sets them apart and several tracks with visual potential could be quite striking live.

They exude confidence and grab attention with some up-front, deep vocals, while their overall sound sits inside a framework of Lou Reed, organic Gorillaz and Richard Hawley.

The disc has a mix of key tracks and filler. Eccentric humor is a definite trait and “Clippity Clop” is as quirky as the name suggests. You cannot take any song too seriously that ends with the line, “How could I have been such a silly moo?” and it starts off the collection well. The jaunty feel to “Wings on Fire” belies the subject matter – being on a plane that’s about to crash – and makes it extra funny. 

Two tracks have a strong Talking Heads vibe (slightly disconnected vocals and simple, sparse backing and the latter with a mood like “Heaven”), but on both the humor fades and the lyrics move from dark to black. “Sweet Face” has Ben Graupner coldly singing, “Smoke till you die / I’ll be there watching / Drive your f****** car / I hope the pavement stops your (sic).” “Looker” is musically one of the strongest songs here. Only the venomous end spoils it: “Allah is going to strike you down, so die.” Maybe this obsession with death is the band’s way of coping with the loss of their twenty-year-old friend Spencer Bell, who tragically died of cancer. The song sounds a little tongue-in-cheek, but if it’s a joke, it wears thin here.  

100 Monkeys vary the diet. “Arizona” is virtually pub-rock with a blatant “Bad Moon Rising” rip-off inserted (as opposed to the more poignant “LDF,” which rips off “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” from the start); “Junkie” is an alt-bluegrass pastiche that smiles at the genre; and several fillers wear different sonic coats.

Take off three tracks, lose the unnecessary bitterness and this could be a fine release. As it is, they push things a bit too far.

Derek Walker