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The Apes
ODDEYESEE
(FRENCH KISS)

Stars graphics

The Apes replace guitar with Hammond organ on their retro tour back to the ’70s freak rock of bands like the Mothers of Invention and Frigid Pink. Oddeyesee grumbles and rumbles like a greasy garbage truck waking up the neighborhood, all sludgy drum beats, speak-sing vocals, fuzzy bass, and a throbbing church organ that brings to mind the soundtrack to some cheesy Vincent Price horror flick. It’s blues, rock, soul, psychedelia, and prog rolled into a glorious mess and played with dervish intensity. The album opens with woozy Moog tones and waterfall gurgles, followed by the cathedral-organ rock of "Imagik," replete with chunky drums that sound like an ape is bashing them — on "Roll Call," it almost sounds like Zeppelin’s John Bonham back there. "How You Like Me Now" floats on otherwordly keyboard textures and features an amusing, monosyllabic vocal spew — a kind of a robot lesson in space travel. The Apes sometimes recall a punked-out Deep Purple, as in "Gemini Butterfly," where organist Amanda Kleinman pounds out candy-coated nightmare melodies and vocalist Paul Weil whines about "two-headed prophets tasting the future." And "Wor Wiz" is pure Halloween music. Play it on your porch to scare the kids.

BY KEN MICALLEF

Issue Date: June 20 - 26, 2003
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