What most of us thought was a one-time Mudhoney offshoot back in 1992 has birthed another bastard spawn. This time around, however, everyone's a bit more likely to recognize the names Mark Arm and Steve Turner (Mudhoney), Tom Price (Gas Huffer), Martin Bland (Lubricated Goat) and Tim Kerr (Poison 13). If you've followed any or all of these guys throughout the past decade, you're probably quite aware of the many, many bands they've helped architect. What's key here is that while geography has landed these artists in different cities, a common thread of similar musical influences has magically bound them together, including blues, soul, country and of course a tinge o' punk rock.
If you were a big Mudhoney fan, listening to Electric Children will immediately bring back good memories. Arm's distinct, cackling voice has stood the test of time and presents itself here with his familiar uniqueness -- but also swaggers about with a mature and confident persona that slyly weaves itself between Bland's harmonicas and tinny, snare drum beats. And while Mudhoney helped drag my sorry ass through the college experience, these days I still call Austin home, so it's good to see Tim Kerr finally getting the respect and recoginition that he so strongly deserves. Fronting countless bands, Kerr has dished out everything from soul to dingy blues to sloshed out garage rock in the local clubs for the past decade (and if you're a real young whippersnapper, go grab yerself a Big Boys CD to get the full effect!). Kerr's full-bodied, fuzzed-out guitar provides the meaty rhythm for most of these tunes, aptly countering Price's clean guitar note runs. Less obvious is Kerr's musical influence, which has certainly shaped The Monkeywrench's sound into less of a grunge revival and more of a modern day, backwoods-retro-hoedown that'll grab you for a foot-stompin' spin on the floor.
With everything in perspective, you realize that The Monkeywrench is not necessarily an attempt at being some "super-group" as much as it is a documented expression of each of the members' musical passions. The 'Wrench get down 'n' dirty with Roy Loney's "Love is a Spider," mounting a successful rockabilly revival while the band turns The Groundhog's 1971 classic, "Cherry Red," into a massive feedback-seizure of guitars screaming in pain, Arm's gutsy howls and a sloppy mess of a good time. "Thirteen Nights" sounds unquestionably like something from the early Mudhoney days, as clean guitar chords are pounded out at a furious pace. The Monkeywrench open up a can o' terror with "Bring on the Judgement day" as Kerr's harmonica douses the speakers with a bewitching display of soulful living. Phew, it's exhausting just listening to this exquisite piece; imagine seeing it live!
Grab thyself a hammer, flail thee upon the cross of mixed-up genres and hope that someone hands you a sturdy Monkeywrench that can somehow pry you loose.
