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Pond Monkeys ::
Start the Reactor!
[ independent, 2002 ]
I am truly impressed.
Where does a group of teenagers from Fort Scott find the inspiration and talent to put out a CD like Start the Reactor? Not only that, but this is their third full-length CD!
The record is 11 solid tracks of modern rock bliss. Start the Reactor is loaded with crunch, melodic vocals, comedic lyrics, catchy melodies, varied guitar textures and not a minute of filler.
Some may want to lump Pond Monkeys in with the Green Day/Sum 41/Blink 182 crowd. But their music is less twenty-first century punk and more 90s Seattle crossed with UK and 80s California new wave/punk. The vocals sound like David Bowie, with a bit of Geddy Lee's tone.
Typical of this sound is the album's opening track, "Senseless." It has a catchy but unique chorus while the music alternates between distortion pedal stomp and clean, no effects guitar (a la Nirvana).
Less typical is "Needs" -- a beautiful, melancholy song with nothing punk-sounding about it. It's actually closer to something that Cowboy Mouth or the Barenaked Ladies would do.
And then there's a cover of Dwight Yoakam's "Fast as You." It's a 50s-style rocker with a fuzz tone bass groove and reminiscent of a Reverend Horton Heat song.
The Pond Monkeys are intriguing to say the least. I can't wait to see what happens after high school graduation.
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