Reviews
Now Wave Magazine:
It's been seven-and-a-half years since I first heard the Kung Fu Monkeys...and I reckon that the majority of the
lovelorn poppunkin' young 'uns who were digging the KFM sound back then are no longer grooving to James Cahill
and co. or even buying 7" vinyl at all. So sad. Most of them kiddies went and grew up on us. Got corporate jobs,
started listening to rap, stopped frequenting the candy shops. Grew beards, threw their Chucky Taylors in the fire,
gave up on love and romance and all that sweet splendorous stuff. Got abducted by aliens, joined homicide cults,
sold off all their Mutant Pop singles, and voted for Dubya (twice). Hi ho.
At one point not so long ago, three quarters of my readership probably had the KFM logo tattooed on their
hearts. Now I bet that at least half of you reading this review are completely unfamiliar with the band and
its work. Well then...
Of all the very many bands I've hyped/hailed/lauded/talked-up in my decade plus as a zine-dude of ill repute,
maybe nine or ten have worked up a recorded legacy worthy of permanent time capsulation. Without a doubt, the
Kung Fu Monkeys would be one of those elite ten. I mean, if someone emailed me from the future and wanted my
list of the ten best underground groups from the years 1995-2005, the KFMs would be way up there, and I'd
specifically implore Mr. Future Man to track down the band's vinyl singles, which rival or perhaps even top the
group's jolly-good full-length, School's Out, Surf's Up, Let's Fall In Love.
It was around Christmas of '97 when I first came across the first Shindig record. Flying from the sky like a
thunderbolt of glee, it smashed through my bedroom window and landed square on my turntable. Before the opening
30 seconds of "Summer School" had passed, I had already fallen in love with the Kung Fu Monkeys. Not just because
their '60s-inspired, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks gone thrash' brand of rollercoaster pop was so different from the
third rate Screeching Weasel tripe everyone else seemed to be hacking out at the time, but also because the group's
music exuded an unabashed joyfulness and purity of heart that were beyond passe at the time, the likes of Nirvana
and Nine Inch Nails having already come along to take all the fun out of rock culture. Cahill's giddy countertenor
was a welcome change-up from the generic snot-tones barked out by all the wannabe Joe Queers of the day, and
you had to love the fact that the group covered Herman's Hermits! While their contemporaries aped bands that
aped the Ramones, the Kung Fu Monkeys went the other direction, evoking the carefree summery merriment of
early Beach Boys hits and '60s bubblegum pop. Over the years, the band's recorded output would be limited---but
always worth the wait!
So here the Kung Fu Monkeys are, a decade into their recording career, sounding better than ever! The last
couple of KFM singles were purty good all right but kinda sorta veered towards indie rock/twee territory.
Well-crafted for sure, but not necessarily my cup of tea. But Electric Tangerine Smile puts the lime in the
Coke! This little slab o' joy is a blissed-out return to the band's kiddie-pop heyday, a four-song gem steeped
in pure '60s splendor....replete with the usual lo-fi production values.
"American Beach Party U.S.A. (We're Having Christmas For Breakfast)" is vintage KFM fare in every respect.
It sounds exactly the way the title implies it should. "I Dig the Way You Move" is more on the rockin' side---like
if the Monkees had recorded a garage tune. The psych-tinged Side B is even better, the mood turning mellow and
introspective, the pace slowing for some placid pop extraordinaire. Think Pet Sounds with production reminiscent
of Buddy Holly & The Crickets. The tranquil "Welshire Station Reverie" is simply beautiful, while "Summertime In
The Desert" might very well be the best song James Cahill's ever written. It's got a melody that I wanna whistle
all day. These two numbers show Cahill finally growing into his songwriting ambitions, his command of pure pop
craftsmanship now rivaling that of a 1966-67 Brian Wilson. These are the songs to play the morning after the
beach party, when you're looking out the window at a resplendent sunrise, thinking about that girl you talked
to last night and wondering if you'll ever see her again. Each tune achieves not just a melancholy elegance,
but also a melodic grandeur that's heaven to the ears.
Music is one of life's great gifts. And at its best, it has the power to make you feel good...even if you've
had an otherwise shitty day and feel like taking a sledgehammer to the skull of every other person you see.
More so than any other band out there, the Kung Fu Monkeys get that. It's impossible for me to listen to their
music and not smile. That's most definitely the case with this latest Shindig volume, which is somewhat of a
"reunion record". KFM alums Mike Jr., John Bowie, Johnny Reno, and Pontiac all play on it, and Mike Faloon contributes
great liner notes in the succinct '60s tradition. So the gang's all here, and one can hardly complain about the
results. This is easily the band's best release since Shindig V. 1. And since Kung Fu Monkeys singles are rare
events these days, this one should be savored for sure. - Rutledge
Terminal Boredom:
HEY YOU! Yeah, you, the cynical fuck who's about to skip this review based on the band
name- read on. I'll be the first to admit that the Mutant Pop catalog hasn't aged so well (that's being kind). Label CEO
Timbo is perhaps the nicest man in the state of Oregon, but he did have a flair for really, really, and I mean really
hyperbolizing when it came to MP bands. To my pop friendly ears, The Kung Fu Monkeys were the one band on the label that
actually lived up to Tim's hype. Of course, with a dozen or so KFM records released there's going to be some stuff that
ain't so hot, but their pop culture obsessed, retro r'n'r has produced more than a few instances of pop greatness over
the years. Not having heard anything about the band in ages, I was very surprised to hear this new single (recorded piecemeal
on both coasts) and to find out that it fucking kills, especially the a-side. "American Beach Party U.S.A." sounds like you
think it sounds, and the rawer than ever, lo-fi production that the band goes for completely works. It's a smash, no doubt
about it. The show-stopper, though, is "I Dig the Way That You Move", which sounds like The Kinks joining up with The
Monkees, and then getting blitzed on Sparks while jamming out a huge fucking hit in the garage. I'd throw the song on
a mixtape after a track from the first Fevers single and it would make perfect sense. The flip is totally different, and
features two ballads. I prefer the Brian Wilson-esque "Summertime in the Desert", over "Welshire Station Reverie" which
sounds like an Everly Brothers slow one. The whole package comes in a nice sleeve, has liner notes from one time band
member Mike Faloon, and comes pressed on both a blue 7" and a red 7" to mimic 3D glasses (?!) and it works about as well
as you think it would. A surprisingly great record. - JG
Maximum Rock N Roll #265:
Like many MRR readers, I devour the zine Ugly Things with a passion. The writing in that
zine is superb, backed up with even betterresearch, and put forth with so much passion that I want to go out and buy many
of the records they are talking about even if I don't like thegenre. Unfortunately once I start reading about these records
anda ctually start listening to them, Irealize I am bored out of my skullhalf the time by things that are just too psychedelic
or freakbeat for me. KUNG FU MONKEYS is a band that I imagine would fit fine in thepages of Ugly Things with their 60's
sounding psych ways. They just do not fit in the pages of a magazine called Maximumrocknroll. Side note,this comes with a blue
and red copy of the record to simulate 3-dglasses and has nice back liner notes by Mike Faloon of Go Metric zine. - Jonathan Floyd
Nothing to do Zine:
The Kung Fu Monkeys are back! There's a lot going on with this record. First off, the artwork is a rip-off
of the Zombies' "Odessey and Oracle" record and that's very cool. Secondly, there is a blue record and a red record with the same songs
on both of them. The idea is to hold the records up to your eyes, using them as 3-D glasses, and look at the 3-D artwork. I tried it and
I couldn't get it to work, but it's the idea that counts! Anyway, this record is a little different than what you'd expect from the KFM's.
The recordings are a lot rougher and rawer than usual (and there's a lot of tambourine, I might add!). I like that kind of thing, so it
makes me happy. Side A starts off with a rocking Christmas-themed song and ends with the very rocking, garagey "I Dig the Way That You
Move." This song reminds me of a song called "Wild Man" or even "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone." It's very much a winner. The KFM's
apparently decided we'd had too much rocking and needed to calm down, so side B contains two slower, prettier songs. "Summertime In
The Desert" is my favorite of the two, with it's neat percussion, "Be My Baby"-type stopping part, and heart-wrenching vocals. "I remember
the summertime... I bathed in your glow." It's about as good as it gets.
Phoenix New Times:
From Whoa Oh Records out of New York City comes Electric Tangerine Smile -- Shindig Volume 3 in 3-D from
The Kung Fu Monkeys. I've known these guys forever, as we both have bands named after feces-throwing mammals, and even though this seven-inch
vinyl record (remember those?) was recorded on four tracks in eight hours, it's a powerhouse. The band, which sounds like any great garage
band from the '60s, does tunes like "I Dig the Way You Move" and "Summertime in the Desert," a song we can all totally relate to. Also
of note, the band features Mike Faloon and John Bowie of the now-defunct Egghead. Actually, I just saw John. On the television. He played
a cheater in that lousy show Las Vegas with James Caan. Before that, he was the T.G.I.F. guy in all those commercials. So he's famous!
And yet he's still doing the punk rock! You go, John! And hey, Mike, keep up the good work with your 'zine, Go Metric! - George Tabb
Nuthin' Zine #14:
Wow, putting on this record felt like I stepped into a time warp. Mix classic 60's rock like the Beach Boys,
splash in a touch of modern music like the Hi-Fives, add in a couple of tabs of acid and you get the Kung Fu Monkeys. It's an interesting
album, but nothing I would play all the time. These guys, however, get an extra point for having the most original 7" packaging ever,
including 3D art on the front and back sleeve and coming with two copies of the record, one clear red, the other clear blue. You hold one
record up to each eye and trip balls. Or something like that. 4/5.
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