Fight Like Apes – Fight Like Apes And The Mystery Of The Golden Medallion

• 25th Nov 2009

It’s difficult to know exactly how to describe Irish band Fight Like Apes. Driving synthesisers form an often quirky backdrop to the sometimes banshee like, but always passionate, vocals of frontwoman MayKay (Mary-Kate Geraghty). Think Poly Styrene and X Ray Spex crossed with Talking Heads.

The album’s title is typical of a band that seems to tend towards the absurd. Previous EPs include “How Am I Supposed To Kill You If You Have All The Guns?” and “David Carradine Is A Bounty Hunter Whose Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch.”

Three minute pop songs filled with strange and at times bizarre lyrics, backed by the ever present synthesisers and punctuated by radio style samples give the album the feel of something delightfully different to mainstream pop or rock. The opening Something Global sets a fast pace which is maintained breathlessly through the aggressive Jake Summers. Other highlights include the bass driven Tie Me Up With Jackets and the closer, Snore Bore Whore, which starts as a ballad and morphs into a chaotic climax.

The overall result is a sometimes strange but always attention grabbing sound, making this an album unlike any other. And the frenzied, couldn’t care less attitude that the band cultivates doesn’t altogether disguise the musical talents that they undoubtedly possess. The album is well worth the investment of a few pounds for novelty value alone, although at only 36 minutes long there was perhaps room for more. And I’m sure that this band has plenty more to say.