Punk. Rock. Luxurious & Revived...

It has been noticeably fashionable of late for bands to adopt the felt-wrapped

and feather-capped whimsy of medieval fantasy to guild their precious works

Not so Monkey Island

We live in media-evil times

the world is seen in all its plague riddled vainglory

through the slit of an armoured helmet

and lambasted wholesomely

in a musical and lyrical tourney

A triumphant clash of peasant's tankards in a Bruegel tavern

Trumpet blast call-to-arms of discordant concord

Against a bier-pulling, heavy-horsed world order...

"You wanna talk garage rock?- Thee best live band in UK" Stevie Chick ,

"Dear God thank you for making this band British * * * * * ", Metal Hammer,

"Single of the week.." The Guardian...

"If John Peel were still with us today, he would undoubtedly love Monkey Island. Straddling the aesthetics of his own

Dandelion label and his beloved Ron Johnson Records, this Hackney-based group may be the hitherto undiscovered

(and indeed unsearched for) missing link between Stackwaddy and Stump."-Alan Holmes- FREQ webzine

"Although Hackney’s Monkey Island are often mentioned in connection with the thriving London garage-blues scene, Luxe et Reduxe is evidence that there’s far more to them than meets the eye. From the stark monochrome Modernist artwork and the anthemic metalness of the opening instrumental ‘Back To The Stoneage’, it’s clear that something’s a bit different. But when Pete Bennett’s wild guitar and howling harp kick in, we’re starting to get a look at the bigger picture.

What Monkey Island have done is to take the form and completely deconstruct it. They blow the dust out of its pipes, bolt on a few extra parts – the angular structures of Wire; the ranting vocals of Mark E Smith; the earthy quaintness of English folksong. They’ve then added their own spit and polish and create something wholly new. Sure it’s garage. As with The Fall, the spectre of The Sonics is never far away. But at the same time, the band takes 60s US streetpunk and puts a weird spin on it. And the end result? Something lean, mean and utterly magnificent." Gerry Ranson- Rock N Reel

 

 

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