Review:

on 2012-06-21 Crispy_Spumoni Said:

In their first full-length album, Boston punk quartet Ape Up! juxtaposes early '90s style garage rock instrumentals with moderately harsh "Sesame Street monster" vocals and passionate yet occasionally schmaltzy lyrics.

At just under 20 minutes long, Kemosabe has a deliberate moody flow, warming up into high-energy tracks and providing slower breaks near the middle. The moderately-paced "Nothing Serious" starts the album off in classic punk style with a 1-2-3-4 drumstick count shortly followed by distorted guitars reminiscent of Sonic Youth, an accompanying steady bass drum beat and an angrily delivered yet reassuring opening line: "We've all done wrong..." Next come the poppier "No Troy" and "1 (800) WILD-DAD," which vacillate between screaming vocals and the ubiquitous nasal voice of modern pop punk. Though fast paced, these songs aren't particularly fun, perhaps because many of the lyrics are free-verse and too self-serious.

"Honey Scoots" offers the catchiest, most concert-friendly bit in the album with the would-be chorus, "Let's keep all this between us / cause this things contagious." The abrupt ejaculation of a discordant guitar leads into the aptly-titled, slow instrumental jam, "Drainbow." Its melancholy tone, complete with bells and hints of accordion, sets the stage for the album's romantically-themed second half.

Maudlin high school poetry lyrics such as "Lie me down, let me rest, remove your face from my emptiness" typify the albums four remaining songs, "When I Was a Good Guy", "Kemosabe", "Sorry All Over the Place" and "Tejas."

Noise rock instrumentals impress throughout, and proved to be the albums highlight. The screaming vocals are aggressive compared to much of the current pop-punk climate's offerings, but far tamer than the pure, trachea-stripping rage of classic hardcore. While I have a special love for the latter variety of vocals, they are most effective when combined with lyrics that are tongue-in-cheek and/or viciously rail against society's corruption. In general, "Kemosabe's" lyrics failed to fall into these categories, and in light of this, the harsh, screaming vocals -- though decently executed -- were unnecessary and seemed forced in places. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that more soothing singing would have improved things; the emotional lyrics would sound syrupy if sung serenely.

It's a matter of personal taste, but punk music is the most fun when it doesn't take itself too seriously. Still, the early '90s grunge bands that seemed to have influenced Ape Up!'s instrumental style pulled off beautifully poetic lyrics with great success. To reach their full potential, Ape Up! should work on the quality of its songwriting and establish greater congruity between vocals, lyrics and their already strong instrumentals.

Rating: 4/10