Only Lovers Records / gig.ROCKS!
Them Flying Monkeys are a Portuguese synth and guitar band who capture a certain charm with their latest long player.
A five-piece with two keyboardists, and a vocalist who shares the same sort of conversational, surprised tones as James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, it has taken them four years to prepare a follow up to their 2020 release; but that layoff seems to have imbued them with a greater sense of adventure and a desire to push their sound in unexpected directions.
All the songs here are sung in English with a cool detachment that works well with the awkward time signatures and noisy outbursts of opener “Beautiful Mess”. The blustery synth sounds drag the song kicking and screaming into a riotous finale that plays havoc with their melodic heavy indie-rock sound. The wild synth action that takes place in the background of “Pretty Sticks” adds fresh texture to an already teeming sound that has the head nodding, gesturing towards the dancefloor as the quiet breakdown and slow build ramps up enthusiasm.
There is simple electronic insistence on “Next Emma Stone” and their colloquial use of English is really impressive; I particularly enjoyed the term “mumbo jumbo mess” as the song picked up momentum and the willingness of the rest of the band to add what I can only describe as gang backing vocals to some of the tracks really adds an extra exuberance. There is a lovely rolling drumbeat on “Great Song” and the energetic list number “Everybody Everything” really has the bit between its teeth. The synth stabs are quite harsh and the guitar outburst duetting with the voice is a cool effect. Hypnotic guitar and spoken word meandering pop up on “Not Me”, while their sullen tramp over Jacques Dutronc‘s “Les Gens Sont Fous, Les Temps Sont Flous” not only highlights their abilities in French but manages to pair a chilled backing with some angry repetition.They seem to understand the secret of the simple backdrop from which to launch their unexpected forays; “Aim” is a pile-driver and forces the group into heavier territory, while the hypnotic loop effect of “Fake It” shares the sane queasy repetition as The Banshees‘ “Circle”. The purity of the drums only adds to the addictiveness. They bow out with “Wilds” ; more hypnosis, but with vocals that seem to be partly surprised and partly outraged and I think that is a good description of the album as a whole.
Enjoyment, amusement, intensity, melodicism and musical verve summed up in one thirty-five minute outing. Let’s hope they head in this direction, because it would be great to see Them Flying Monkeys live on stage.-Mr Olivetti-
