The album takes its name from a cartoon featuring Mr T from the A-Team. And I pity the fool who don’t dig this record.
Fight Like Apes – Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion
http://www.fightlikeapesmusic.com/ www.myspace.com/fightlikeapesmusic
It is a strange coincidence that I come to review an album by a band that called an early EP David Carradine Is A Bounty Hunter Who’s Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch a matter of days after the passing of Carradine, whilst apparently engaging in auto-erotic asphyxiation in the closet of a Bangkok hotel room. That title is a good indication of their approach – weird, sexy and sarcastic.
The undoubted star is vocalist MayKay. The best demonstration of her talents is probably Jake Summers where her vocal and the track start almost as bubble-gum pop, before she launches into ‘Hey you, what’s-your-face / I have a pocket full of fists, you got a stupid face’ with alarming gusto over an increasingly frenetic groove. Even if I didn’t like her work, I probably wouldn’t tell her. ‘Lend me your face’ she sings ‘I’ll bust it up and I’ll replace it’ and rarely has a threat of violence sounded so stupidly joyous.
Sitting somewhere between Karen O’s vocal dexterity and Riot Grrl madness, her twisted personality is all over the record. Behind her, the band knocks out ferocious and ridiculous synth pop punk. They balance on the line between angsty and silly whilst sounding like they are having a fucking blast.
The album runs out of steam a tad in the second half with only Do You Karate?, and I’m Beginning to Think you Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 to Me standing out. That aside this is superb slice of unashamedly dirty, funny and stupid cleverness. The album takes its name from a cartoon featuring Mr T from the A-Team. And I pity the fool who don’t dig this record. Hopefully they don’t take the Mr T thing to far and end up covering his single Treat Your Mother Right, as that would just be wrong.
Words: Rover