However much you trust your instincts, there are times in this game when those dreaded first impressions can let you down. This demo EP by DESERT MONKEY being a case in point.
Recorded by Mark Daghorn, the man responsible for the hard and heavy delights of Brody's recent "Torn From A Warm Place" EP, the deafening drums and widdly guitars that signalled the start of the EP's first (and title) track were just about to have me diving for cover when suddenly some surprisingly melodic riffing kicks in and the whole thing assembles in shape to be far more in the crushingly heavy, but actually pretty cool rawk footprints of the likes of Alice In Chains and The Screaming Trees.
Preceonceptions duly (and pleasantly) shattered, the rest of the EP continues in a similar vein, with this highly proficient quintet throwing some tasty funky touches a la Chili Peppers and then quickly retreating into something moody and melodic before introducing a massive chorus on ambitious second track "Balance."
Suitably impressed, third track "Terpsichorean" is the real behemoth here. The vocal roar at the beginning's positively antediluvian and the intensity is never less than tangible. Could do without the widdly guitar on this one, mind: me pet T-Rex won't come out for his evening walk while that's going on and he gets particularly nasty when he's not walked before his supper.
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Still, even he's no complaints with the final tune, "Easylong", which starts out as chiming, noir-ish rock-pop with great dynamics. Again, the band's natural funkiness pops over the parapet with some Flea-bothering tweaky bass and actually the whole caboodle reminds me of sadly long-deceased, but immortally cool NYC punk-funkers Heads Up!, which - believe me - is a compliment.
So, yeah, rather good and not what I'd expected initially, which shows why gving demos 30 seconds and frisbeeing them onto the roof of the factory over the road's not good enough. Well, most of the time anyway.
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