The song opens up with the screech that happens when you put a guitar up to the amp - it sets the tone for how post-punk modern garage or alternative rock this track will be.
Funnelling through the instrumental, you're hearing a nasty (and we mean the excellent nasty) filtered and distorted lead guitar and a drum pattern full of attitude - it's simple but loud, proud, and gritty.
Come to think of it - for the track title to be called 'Bad Monkey', you need an instrumental with an easy-to-pinpoint homage to post-punk. A mischievous and raging backing for a song with a playful title. Most of us would usually use the term "monkey" as slang to represent someone being naughty or mischievous; the band is taking that and elevating it into an anarchy approach.
You can hear it, as mentioned before, in the instrumental, but also in the choice of microphone (or vocal editing) used for the track that places the final cherry on top for one enjoyable tune. Whoever made the production choice of filtering the voice through either an old phone (think payphone) with distortion was a smart move as it demonstrates all of the collective creative
decisions necessary to make a track that transports you back in time sonically.
The story that the instrumentation and the lyrics create focuses on a protagonist with an axe to grind. Here are a few snippets of the song that jumped out to us, giving us a matching surge of energy and adrenaline.
"I got my little black book full of numbers and names" represents the list of people they may or may not mess around with; the attitude of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer to avoid getting mixed up with "snakes". The nature of how to fit into a society that doesn't appreciate uniqueness, so a mimic of the approved living slips in: "I got my fake sunglasses with the Ray-Ban frames".
The most powerful that sums up the song in its entirety is "all the good monkeys go to heaven, all the good heavens go to hell",; a fun and powerful statement showing that there exist expected mischievous acts that society deems as correct and then those that are seen as going against the grain as individuals try to carve out the lifestyle they so desire that best suits them and their community. And it all starts by being a 'Bad Monkey'.
If this is your first introduction to the band, what a way to get brought into their dynamic. They're a band that tries to stick it to the man and the world with killer beats that will make you return for more!
Tyra Baker
Image: ‘Bad Monkey’ Official Single Cover
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