It’s hard to figure out just what is and isn’t post punk these days. Red Monkey, an English trio with roots in bands like Pussycat Trash and Huggy Bear, kind of fits the bill -- although not in the usual way. Blending together all the right stuff -- a bit of Gang of Four, a hint of Beat Happening, and something vaguely Riot Grrl -- they depart from the post punk norm with their directness, their relatively slow tempo and their moments of quietude.

There’s not a whole lot that swings or grooves on Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. All in all, the songs are very crunchy and abrupt. Coupled with Rachel’s sing-song vocal style, it’s all kind of awkward. The kind of awkward that grabs, and commands, your attention. And that’s when you start to notice little things like the hand-claps and honking, Nation of Ulysses-style trumpet on "Bloody Mary". "Not Certain" actually reminds me of Fugazi’s "Waiting Room", although it's much, much slower. The strongest song on the album, if I may be so bold as to say so, is "The Jazz Step Forwards," a clearly political song that alternates between angular and syncopated, girl vocals and boy vocals, quiet and loud, slow and fast. You get the idea. In fact, the whole album is quite political, but in more of a "personal is political" way than their previous albums. And I found myself, for the most part, concentrating on the bass lines over the lyrics anyway.

Red Monkey is actually a good example of how post punk has come to describe sounds that most of us wouldn’t call punk at all. Although the band is still clearly influenced by the DIY ethic (Rachel and Pete used to run Slampt Underground, which put out the first Red Monkey single) and earlier punk bands, I appreciate the fact that they are informed, rather than defined, by their influences.