Great Apes - Debut 7"

Great Apes are exactly the kind of band that Idle and the Bear is cut out to review. They're new (or up and coming, or whatever term/phrase you swear by), they play punk music, and they play it damn well. They have kind of a dirtier sound and their songs kind of bring bands like Maladroit, Arms Aloft, and Mayflower to mind for me. Maybe like a slightly slowed down and tighter version of those bands. Slower at times, tighter usually, but definitely with the same amount of energy.

Great Apes have a series of EP's coming out soon, the first of which being the self-titled one that this review happens to be concerning. The EP starts off with a slower number titled "Sam's Song" (for whatever reason, I had a lot of trouble not typing 'Sam's Town' just then). It's very melodic, and the awesome, rough lead vocals are backed by some pretty awesome back ups at various places throughout the song. It's a nice song, but it doesn't bring too much new to the table, nor anything that is at least colorful enough to stand out. It's followed by a song I like quite a bit more, however.

'This is a Trans World' follows the Screeching Weasel derived pop punk formula pretty straight forward. With the level of power used, it comes off almost sounding like a Street Dogs song, or that new melodic punk group that Jay Navarro is singing for these days. It appears to be a song about transgender folk and it being A-okay with Great Apes. That's mighty white of you, Great Apes. We're on the same page. It's a good song. It feels a bit folky even. And the shouting of, "boys will be girls!" at the end is pretty fucking cool. I dig it.

With the third and last song, "Detonator", I feel more reassured in my Street Dogs comparison. The rhythm kind of gives me a 'Let's Go' era Rancid vibe, though. That or basically any song by Buck-O-Nine during the non-ska bits. What "Detonator" succeeds most at is solidifying this 3-song EP as a worthwhile ear-endeavor. The songs are all pretty good, while not really being that great (to me, at least). They definitely sound like a band I could see friends of mine getting into a bit more than me, but that's a compliment. My friends have decent taste. Some of them. Some of them have horrible taste, Billy. 

Check out Great Apes! Do it. They have like a facebook and a bandcamp page and everything. They have EPs soon to be released on Say-10 Records, too. And we'll be posting an update when that occurs so you can pick up a physical copy of this cool little record. Until then, you can check out what they have up on their bandcamp. You won't be disappointed. 

-Idle

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