Back in in the headier days of the early '90s, I used to laugh out loud at those bands who used to churn out albums duplicating Ramones discs. Now the Ramones are dead (for the most part) and gone, do we need an Australian version of the same thing?
We don't but Brisbane's Undead Apes are anything but. Sure, they worship at the Temple of Johnny where every stroke is a downstroke, but they do so with originality and wit. The Ramones became a genre as well as a band and these guys (and gal) are playing in the same style but adding heir own touches.
Undead Apes understand that it's the melodies that count as much as the rhythms. Lots of pop punk bands think the same way but they lack musical spines. It's as simple as that.
There's a lot to like about songs like "Taxes" (a fuck you to would-be-if-they-could-be bands) and the opening blitzkrieg of "Eat Yr Brain". "ESP" shows a lighter touch in the vein of The Spazzys while "Jason" sounds like Green Day before they became a product. "Lobotomy" isn't a cover but a minor key romp with its own life. "True Love" turns down the fidelity a touch and sounds just like early Hard-Ons.
Undead Apes don't pretend to be doing anything new so they don't try and "ape" (sorry) the Ramones' unique "sick" humour. This is all their own work.
There are only a handful of Aussie bands that have pulled off this stuff in recent years. The Spazzys and Mach Pelican are obvious inclusions but here's proof that you can add Undead Apes. Excuse my brevity but I have to go chase down their first LP.
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