The Apes -- Hipster Music

The Fugue In the Fog

A more appropriate name for this band would be The Sea Monkeys, cuz every time I hear this album it reminds me of one of those little castles that you'd find in a goldfish bowl. Maybe it's the underwater quality of the production, but I just see these guys miniaturized and rockin' out at the bottom of a bowl of water. My weird illusions aside, these guys manage the blues tinged art school rock thing without a guitar--or an ounce of shame. The grooves are straight forward and crushing, although not really varying from track to track. They also love to mention the name of the band a lot (five titles actually have the word "ape" in them), leading me to believe that there's not much going on in the lyrics department. I actually got this CD free from Frenchkiss when I ordered a couple Les Savy Fav albums from them, so to complain at all is pretty weak on my part. This is a great dose of spazzy art rock that is long on potential but a little less successful in its execution. The kitsch of wearing fatigues and speaking of mystical lands is always a draw for some, but it seems they actually put some thought into the music heading into their second LP, as it shows good progression from this debut.

Oddeyesee

These days not having a guitar in your band makes you artsy. We know that artsy isn't everybody's bag when it comes to music--as it usually means inaccessible and difficult. Well, in The Apes case, you may be right. First, we have this weird robot-sounding narrator who is kind of the overseer of this album, kind of the keeper of the Moog or something. The songs sound like The Doors if they were possessed by a demonic Japanese supermonster and playing a gig in a haunted house. Scare you yet? Some of the stuff even veers into The Damned territory. I'm almost waiting for the lightening strikes and rain noises--oh, there they are! This is some strange stuff, to be sure, and the production is bizarre to boot, with an odd sound that makes it sound as if the band is playing at the bottom of a well. While this certainly isn't for everyone, there is some pretty compelling music on here, including the standout track, "Children Of Brainbow N Brainbro." I think they're political, but who the hell can tell?