Lately, it seems like the whole world has gone bananas. I'm sorry, I thought I was better than making monkey puns (guess not). We've got The Monkees, who this year delivered their first Christmas album in 60 years; we've got Make Like Monkeys, who seem to have released a couple hundred Christmas songs (so far) this year; and here we have Frisky Monkey.
Frisky Monkey is an Atlanta Synth-Pop duo (Juan Cezar and Douglas Pettus) who, since 2011, have been “proud purveyors of atmospheric dance your ass off music”. They also happen to be fans of the annual Christmas single thing. To date, they've turned out FIVE festive freebies--all available in their Soundcloud collection "Christmas Songs".
Synth Pop is a genre that dominated the Eighties, at a time when I was discovering and exploring Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, et. al. I was aware of Synth Pop, of course. With MTV leading the way, you couldn't avoid bands like Flock of Seagulls and the Thompson Twins. And one of the radio stations I was fond of, then, was fond of Depeche Mode and Erasure. As the calendar changed over to the Nineties, Synth Pop slipped away and it's just sort of been hovering on the fringes since. It wasn't until Scarlet Club came along with a Christmas album in 2015 that I began to feel some measure of nostalgia for the decade and genre.
Frisky Monkey obviously puts more of themselves into their original music--the music they make a living on. So if you want to hear them at their absolute best, check out their latest release from September of this year--"Misadventures of a Misguided Monkey". Now that's the kind of album I could go ape over. If I were reviewing that one, I'd give it five bananas--I mean stars. Songs like "Other Possibilities", "Crystal Blue", and "The Origin of Sadness" are as good as anything from the decade that inspired them.
But I'm not one to look a gift gorilla in the mouth. Frisky Monky's Christmas covers are fun and festive. And free! And they share a more direct linage to the originators of the sound than most of what we currently classify as Synth Pop. You might even call them a missing link to the origin of the species (somebody stop me).
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", a collaboration with GlitBiter, was last year's Frisky Monkey Christmas song. "Let It Snow In A Winter Wonderland" dates to 2016. In 2015, they covered the Bing Crosby classic, "The Secret of Christmas". 2014 saw Frisky Monkeys team up with Stereospread on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". And "Blue Christmas" is from 2013 or earlier. Of the bunch, I prefer the two collaborations (possibly because of the introduction of female vocals). I will say "Blue Christmas" is very interesting and different, but it's still "Blue Christmas" (that song can't be saved).
So give Frisky Monkeys a chimp--I mean chance. You'll find all of their Christmas songs collected on "Christmas Songs" on Soundcloud. I can hardly wait to see what they gift us this year. I'm sure they won't monkey around. It's a gibbon that we'll get another Christmas song, right? I can't help myself; there's a monkey on my back. Frisky Monkeys are more fun than...nope. Not gonna say it. I'm better than that.
Frisky Monkey is an Atlanta Synth-Pop duo (Juan Cezar and Douglas Pettus) who, since 2011, have been “proud purveyors of atmospheric dance your ass off music”. They also happen to be fans of the annual Christmas single thing. To date, they've turned out FIVE festive freebies--all available in their Soundcloud collection "Christmas Songs".
Synth Pop is a genre that dominated the Eighties, at a time when I was discovering and exploring Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, et. al. I was aware of Synth Pop, of course. With MTV leading the way, you couldn't avoid bands like Flock of Seagulls and the Thompson Twins. And one of the radio stations I was fond of, then, was fond of Depeche Mode and Erasure. As the calendar changed over to the Nineties, Synth Pop slipped away and it's just sort of been hovering on the fringes since. It wasn't until Scarlet Club came along with a Christmas album in 2015 that I began to feel some measure of nostalgia for the decade and genre.
Frisky Monkey obviously puts more of themselves into their original music--the music they make a living on. So if you want to hear them at their absolute best, check out their latest release from September of this year--"Misadventures of a Misguided Monkey". Now that's the kind of album I could go ape over. If I were reviewing that one, I'd give it five bananas--I mean stars. Songs like "Other Possibilities", "Crystal Blue", and "The Origin of Sadness" are as good as anything from the decade that inspired them.
But I'm not one to look a gift gorilla in the mouth. Frisky Monky's Christmas covers are fun and festive. And free! And they share a more direct linage to the originators of the sound than most of what we currently classify as Synth Pop. You might even call them a missing link to the origin of the species (somebody stop me).
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", a collaboration with GlitBiter, was last year's Frisky Monkey Christmas song. "Let It Snow In A Winter Wonderland" dates to 2016. In 2015, they covered the Bing Crosby classic, "The Secret of Christmas". 2014 saw Frisky Monkeys team up with Stereospread on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". And "Blue Christmas" is from 2013 or earlier. Of the bunch, I prefer the two collaborations (possibly because of the introduction of female vocals). I will say "Blue Christmas" is very interesting and different, but it's still "Blue Christmas" (that song can't be saved).
So give Frisky Monkeys a chimp--I mean chance. You'll find all of their Christmas songs collected on "Christmas Songs" on Soundcloud. I can hardly wait to see what they gift us this year. I'm sure they won't monkey around. It's a gibbon that we'll get another Christmas song, right? I can't help myself; there's a monkey on my back. Frisky Monkeys are more fun than...nope. Not gonna say it. I'm better than that.
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