Ahh, Fight Like Apes. Full of mad energy and bizarre song titles, they make music that makes you move. Madly. I discovered them by accident when they played support to The Ting Tings in my first week at uni. I'd missed out on most of the Freshers Week stuff (largely cos I couldn't give a damn about Freshers) so I got myself a ticket to see The Ting Tings at the end of the week instead. This was the beginning of my addiction to gigs, by the way. Anyway, I wasn't expecting anything like Fight Like Apes. I'd only been to pop gigs before - Busted, Atomic Kitten - in medium/big venues. The LCR at my uni holds about 1500 people max. It was brilliant. FLA filled the room with all their mad energy, really got the crowd hyped up. And to be honest, I much preferred their performance over The Ting Tings. As it turns out, I don't really like The Ting Tings that much any more, but FLA... well, I think it's clear I'm head over heels in love with them.
They play a kind of, electro-pop, punk, shoegaze blend. Heavy on the synths and random samples from b-movies (they love b-movies) and infused with a chaotic energy. Vocalist MayKay drifts between shrieking and gorgeous softer vocals. And the lyrics... oh so odd. Wonderfully odd. I only got their second album a few days ago, thanks to the Australian iTunes store finally getting it in. There's a track on there called "Pull Off Your Arms and Let's Play In Your Blood". I kid you not. Thing is though, the synths and the strange sing-song quality to MayKay's voice make it so much less sinister than it should be. If anything, it's funny as hell.
Which brings me to another thing that I love about FLA - they make me smile. They make me laugh. They are the best thing to put on when I'm feeling shit. Take Something Global and Indie Monster - both taking swipes at indie hipster types and so wonderfully funny in the process. Or "I'm Beginning To Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 To Me" - it's chorus consists almost solely of "You're fired" but it makes me smile so much.
My favourites have got to be Battlestations and Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues. Battlestations because it's strangely stress relieving, wonderfully cathartic to just sing/scream along with. Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues because it's such a bizarre, madly energetic track. I do believe it's a cover of a McLusky track - I looked it up and I definitely prefer FLA's version.
Hmmm, what else to say? Other that I'm obviously a complete fangirl about FLA. That's it, really. So, check 'em out, let me know what you think and pass it on.
Assorted Fight Like Apes links:
Myspace
Last.fm
Recommended tracks:
From Fight Like Apes and the Mystery Of The Golden Medallion: Battlestations, Digifucker, Something Global, Tie Me Up With Jackets
From The Body Of Christ and the Legs Of Tina Turner: Hoo Ha Henry, Indie Monster, Pull Off Your Arms and Let's Play In Your Blood, Waking Up With Robocop, Ice Cream Apple F**k
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