Fight Like Apes – Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion (Model Citizen Records)
January 26th, 2009
4.6/6.0
Wondering whether popular indie will ever move along from identikit three-piece all-male bands with guitars and a small handful of chords? Well, fear no longer. Fight Like Apes are here to do just that with a debut album full of inventive (yet still radio-friendly) tunes in the petulant yet joyous mould of Los Campesinos! and McLusky (who Fight Like Apes covered for a single B-side last year).
Jake Summers is a case in point – a deliciously bitter character study, packed with witty rhymes and just enough clever pop culture references to steer it clear of mainstream desperation. Digifucker, which transforms from its misleading, delicate intro into a furious, freewheeling Korg-led tale of infidelity, is also a strong track.
The upbeat Lend Me Your Face – which talks of rearranging the protagonist’s mug in sugar-sweet terms – shows off the band’s sense of fun and invention and still sounds as fresh as it did upon its summer 2008 single release. Gentle wit is evident on I’m Beginning To Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 To Me. The band issue musical P45s with the aid of a flute that’s escaped from Vampire Weekend’s mannered clutches, some irreverent backing vocals and an inspired, high-speed charge through every nursery rhyme you grew up with.
Do You Karate? is by far the finest track on offer though. With a strong sense of melody, it’s playful and distinctive (everyone’s inner child will want to join in on the “# Shi-shi-shi-shit…# Bang bang!” refrain from MayKay and Pockets) and could well become the band’s signature tune.
MayKay (vocals/keys) has a near-perfect sense of melody, and plays with rhythm and words in a manner that – whilst it feels a little dirty to say so – somewhat reminiscent of Alex Turner. On the chorus of current single Tie Me Up With Jackets, there’s a brilliant moment where she sings “# lovely noise that makes you love me #” with a fierce rhythm that would be totally wasted on a guitar.
Most importantly, she delivers her vocal performances with petulance, but without howling or going over the top. She knows how to use restraint in her bittersweet delivery when it matters, lending her performance a credibility which can’t easily be taken away. It’s an important factor in elevating this from being merely OK (and a little annoying) to really very good.
There’s a few slices of filler – Lumpy Dough drops the pace and suffers as a result, whereas Recycleable Ass and Battlestations fall short of the high standards set. But on the whole, this is a debut album full of welcome originality to get the year off to a fine start.
words: Kate Goodacre
Fight Like Apes tour in February and March: Joiners, Southampton (Feb 18), Moles Club, Bath (19), Louisiana, Bristol (20), Leadmill, Sheffield (22), Barfly, Cardiff (23), Barfly, Camden (25), Barfly, Birmingham (26), Adelphi, Hull (27), The Roadhouse, Manchester (March 1), Barfly, Liverpool (2), King Tut’s, Glasgow (3), The Cockpit, Leeds (5), Fibbers, York (6), Uncle Albert’s, Middlesbrough (7), and the Bodega Social Club, Nottingham (8).
www.fightlikeapesmusic.com
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Kate Goodacre is a freelance writer and photographer, and the founding editor of The Fugitive Motel. Her taste in music has been broadened greatly by her co-contributors over the years that the site and the Motel collective has been in business. Kate likes pink lady apples, recycling, open-wheeled motorsport, the smell of a well-kept park, the Today Programme and that strangely invigorating stillness you get in a city early on any weekend morning.