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 ROCK
‘N’ ROLL MONKEY AND THE ROBOTS-
Back To Beatsville (Site)
This is as blatantly, unabashedly worshipful of Nuggets-era
garage rock as anything ol’ Billy Childish ever put out as part of the
65 different incarnations of the same band he’s been in for the last 30
years. But, interestingly, R’N’R Monkey takes a separate route than,
say, Thee Mighty Caesars, eschewing primal simplicity for more of a
groovin’, nuanced take on ‘60s garage rock (that said, “We Want To
Hear You Howl,” which absolutely rules, sounds like it easily could’ve
been put out by Childish’s female acolytes, Thee Headcoatees). ANYHOW, I
dig this concept and very much like how this
Detroit
(pronounce it DEE-Troyt- it’s
more fun that way) band brings it to life. And it’s funny- go to any
rockabilly show (or punk show, for that matter) and you’ll see people
dressed and behaving with as unselfconscious a longing for another time as
imaginable, but it’s not that common to see such balls to the wall
enthusiasm as this for the garage scene. And if these kitty cats had a
mission statement, it would be the menacing, barely restrained “Time
Machine,” which lobbies for a return to 1962 so effectively that it
makes me want to step right into said Wayback Machine with them. Another
cool thing about Back To Beatsville
is the fact that core band members invited three different acclaimed and
obviously talented garage punk guitarists to guest on different tracks,
calling it a Beatsville Showdown. Not sure who ultimately came out on top
in this little rumble, but they all sound great- the leads are wickedly
good throughout. If I had a garage, I’d lock myself in it in sympathetic
symbolism, get real drunk (of course), crank this the fuck up and air
guitar my ass right the hell along with this disc until I hurt myself. And
I’d only mildly regret it the next day. –Ben Hunter
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