Reviews
Stoats Afire!
Stoat: A short tailed weasel with brown coat.
Afire: Being on fire.
Mold Monkies: A New Haven, CT based Rock-n-Roll band that draws heavily from the New Wave era.
The connection? Got me. What I do know is that The Mold Monkies 2nd release in 5 years continues the pristine, poppy, New Wave indulgence displayed on their 1st CD – O Brave Yet Ignorant Swine. With classic songwriting, slick production and an aggressiveness sound that doesn’t lose the professionalism of the band, the songwriting team of Russell Shaddox and Nick Appleby prove once again that their popfest, musical signatures and ingeniously, witty lyrics can nestle in with the likes of XTC, Tonio K, The Jam, The Kinks and Warren Zevon to name but a few.
15 tracks (7 by Shaddox, 7 by Appleby) augmented by an awesome cover of Billy Bragg’s 1985 song, “A New England,” which makes the transition, along with all the others, to 2010 perfectly. There are a lot of 80s New Wave records that sound ridiculously dated when played today, but Stoats Afire! works both ways here. It would fit comfortably in the 80s alongside the entire Stiff Records Catalogue and beyond, while it also represents how 2nd Wave English Pop is still a viable format in today’s Rock-n-Roll landscape. Not to mention that the album closer, “Average Plan” could be on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.
The Mold Monkies are on fire here, as to whether or not the “Stoats” apply, maybe playing the “Stoats Afire!” board game enclosed in the CD will help you decide. Either way it’s great fun and Great Rock-n-Roll.
— Gary Vollono, IndepenDisc review, September 2010
O Brave Yet Ignorant Swine
Not heard a release quite like this one and that is a very, very good thing … VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
— Bruce Brodeen, Not Lame Recordings, June 2008
“Nixon's Nose,” The Mold Monkies – A burst of energetic accessibility, The Mold Monkies not only write good songs, but the production on them, especially “Nixon's Nose,” is also just too perfect. Think new wave mixed with power pop and a little indie and you get this great tune.
— Ideat VIllage, July 2007
Dear power-pop fans: I have a new band to report to you about. Their name is The Mold Monkies. They have great groove and have the same mastery of pop hooks that Elvis Costello still boasts to this day. The band doesn’t care that they’re hilarious, it’s a natural thing for them and their hilarity comes across in not only their press kits but their lyrics as well. Be assured that if you like great pop-rock with a flair for inventiveness, than this is a band to keep on your radar.
— J-Sin, Smother Magazine online review, January 2006
The Mold Monkies’ sound consists of fun, upbeat, guitar riffs, bouncy bass lines and solid drums. The result is a blend of power pop, post-punk, and indie rock that lies somewhere between The Strokes and The Super Furry Animals, with a touch of early REM for good measure. They wander sentimentally from bubble gum punk rock without losing a step or jarring the listener from a toe-tapping good time.
— Patrick Rodgers, Northeast In-Tune magazine, October 2005
This duo has written, played, recorded, and engineered one of the most complete overviews of the English New Wave invasion of America during the ’80s. And they’ve done it in a modern upscale fashion, incorporating the ’90s alt-pop and ’00s indiepop sounds into a flowing manifest of what at one time would’ve been hit single after hit single … Blending the meat of post-punk crunch with catchy ear candy pop, The Mold Monkies cover more territory in the first 4 songs than most bands do in a career.
— Gary Vollono, IndepenDisc review, August 2005
This is very probably the most original CD I have listened to this year. It is superbly put together; there is not a single track that I dislike … Like the Cramps crossed with Julian Cope on acid. This is a must-have CD. ‘Nixon’s Nose’ alone is worth the asking price. Thanks for a great bit of music, keep it up! Stop reading, start buying.
— Eli Bowes, CD Baby review, July 2005
Thanks for the CD. I enjoyed it.
— Pop icon Bill Lloyd, correspondence, August 2005