"Fight Like Apes" Album Review

"Fight Like Apes" Album Review


“Magazines are so over-rated yeah? ... they like whatever’s cool or trend’s gonna take those copies off the shelf” . So screams MayKay, lead singer of “Fight Like Apes”. This is not without its irony, seeing as “Fight Like Apes” are the simian “It” band of the moment. At times the hype seems justified, such as on the perversely catchy “Jake Summers” or the rousing “I’m Beginning To Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 To Me” However, many tracks are formulaic. Unfortunately, for “The Apes” that formula seems to be - novelty keyboard opener, plus monotonous guitar trash, equals pop punk perfection (hopefully).” Fight Like Apes” are at their best when they’re experimental -“ Lumpy Dough”, although never quite rising into the cupcake it could be, shows the band to be capable of producing well-crafted, thoughtful songs.
At other times though, they veer perilously close to novelty band territory. “Battlestations” in particular has a definite whiff of Christmas jingle to it. This year, the band might consider asking Santa for a new synthesiser - the sheer 80s cheesiness of the keyboards being a large part of the problem.
For a debut album however, there is no doubt that “Fight Like Apes and The Mystery of The Golden Medallion” is an impressive piece of work. The band is lyrically clever. What’s more, they possess a confidence normally found only in bands with several successful albums under their belt. The lead singer yelps and wails her way through, with the abandon of a female Frank Black. And for the album closer, “Snore Bore Whore”, the band throw in a big “Avalanches” style mash up, one suspects just for the hell of it. But as much as their exuberance makes up for their other shortcomings, the album is patchy. Listener discretion is most definitely advised.
2.5/5 stars