The Mold Monkies
Gig Seeker Pro

The Mold Monkies

| SELF

| SELF
Band Rock Alternative

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


""So slick, yet so cool""

This duo has written, played, recorded, and engineered one of the most complete overviews of the English New Wave invasion of America during the ‘80s. And they’ve done it in a modern upscale fashion, incorporating the ‘90s Alt. pop and ‘00s indiepop sounds into a flowing manifest of what at one time would’ve been hit single after hit single.

Blending the meat of post punk crunch with catchy ear candy pop, The Mold Monkies cover more territory in the first 4 songs than most bands do in a career. No No No No kicks with teen angst in an absolutely roaring wave of guitar screams and Post-punk, Punk – Jump up and punch something or somebody to feel good, or just slam dance – “It doesn’t matter anyway.” It may not be the real deal, but it’s being relayed to us through those who lived it. Little House of Pain and End of the Show bring out the pure pop, a la Nick Lowe, Squeeze, The Jam, The Sorrows, Eddie & The Hot Rods, and numerous other New Wave Popsters, and they do it with aplomb. So slick, yet so cool, sneaking in a Guided By Voices filtered through Television style of ringing vocal and guitar harmony, we can’t help but pogo to the sing-a-long friendly choruses and backing vocals – “Oo lalala, Oo lalala” - Both these (break-up) songs could as easily find themselves on the soundtrack to any number of current network teen soaps (and that’s meant in an incredibly good way), just as Nixon’s Nose could turn up on a Dr. Demento LP (again, meant in an incredibly good way). Using the premise of cloning Nixon from his nose – “They’re cloning Nixon’s Nose / They think we need another Nixon, / I suppose.” Dropped smack dab into The Stranglers, London Punk scene, screaming guitar chords slam the organ as the vox stretches over the intense build of scattered distortion using a lyrical prose and play on words that would make Tom Lehrer smile. - www.independisc.com, August 2005


""A toe-tapping good time""

The Mold Monkies’ sound consists of fun, upbeat guitar riffs, bouncy bass lines and solid drums. The result is a blend of power pop, post-punk, and indie rock that lies somewhere between The Strokes and The Super Furry Animals, with a touch of early REM for good measure. They wander sentimentally from bubblegum punk rock without losing a step or jarring the listener from a toe-tapping good time. … They have a sound that is a challenge not to nod or tap along. It is catchy and uses well-timed bits of feedback and distortion. It is pop … as a means of bridging the gaps between ever-elusive sub-genres of rock and just having a good time. - Northeast In-Tune magazine, October 2005


""A great bit of music""

This is very probably the most original CD I have listened to this year. It is superbly put together; there is not a single track that I dislike … Like the Cramps crossed with Julian Cope on acid. This is a must-have CD. ‘Nixon’s Nose’ alone is worth the asking price. Thanks for a great bit of music, keep it up! Stop reading, start buying. - CD Baby review, July 2005


""Smart melodies, smart lyrics""

When this disc first came out in 2004 as a “collectible prerelease edition” (with a release party delayed until a full live band could be arranged), Russell Shaddox and Nick Appleby … claimed that it was born of their desire to make a stripped-down record. Thing is, it's really not stripped down. There's so much sound on here – guitars layered and processed, keyboards here and there, echo on the vocals. Which is not to say the disc sounds tame – it doesn't. The vocals can be raw and urgent, the drumming powerful. It's not stripped-down, but it is energetic – and it's clean energy. Brighter and cleaner than punk rock, darker and edgier than most power-pop, arty but not “out” enough to be art rock. Smart melodies, smart lyrics – take it for what it is and don't worry about it. - New Haven Advocate, 11/10/05


""Best thing released this year""

The best thing released this year without a doubt. - WPLR Local Bands Show, 11/06/05


Discography

Debut CD, O Brave Yet Ignorant Swine (2005), is available on CD Baby, Amazon.com, Independisc.com, iTunes, and Connecticut independent record stores. The album have received extensive airplay on The Local Bands Show on 99.1 WPLR in southern Connecticut, as well as several broadcast and internet radio programs in the Northeast.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Emerging from the primordial soup of two mens's collective unconscious, and bursting upon the American musical scene with all the force of a tractor-trailer full of pork chops, the Mold Monkies are here. And they won't leave.

Begun as an experiment in power pop by shadowy Northumberlandese pop fixture Nick Appleby (Chopper, The Absolute Zeros) and other guy Russell Shaddox (Buzzbaby, Biff and the Squids), the Mold Monkies quickly evolved into a joyous exploration of Spinal Tap's aphorism that "there's a fine line between stupid and clever."

"It's noisy, it's goofy, it's hyperenergized," said Russell, as his TV-glazed eyes slowly gravitated back toward the siren song of a CSI marathon. "But most of the songs have a genuine melody, which is an increasing rarity in today's mainstream pop landscape. So we're proud of that, or something."

Nick agrees, nodding his head slowly. Traumatized by the creation of the new CD, for weeks he has been unable to articulate any words except "Pat the bunny."

"Our formative cultural environment was the late 70s and early 80s," said Russell, clearly enraptured by the sound of his own voice. "Growing up in England, Nick loved the 'punk' and 'new wave' scenes that were all the rage with the youngsters back then. Meanwhile, I was in San Antonio, listening to a melting pot of power pop, prog-rock, punk, new wave, Celt-rock and Philly soul. That's why I am confused now, and look to Nick for direction and moral guidance."

"Pat the bunny," Nick agrees.

Overcome your natural repulsion. Find out what The Mold Monkies are all about, because if you don't, you won't know. What they're all about.