Shitake Monkey : Street Beef

<p> <img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/shitakemonkey.jpg" alt=" " />'Lectro-rock just got a lot more fun.  The trio of former paid Sony pop/hip-hop/rock collaborators, Shitake Monkey, smash an oversized amount of energy into...
7.5 Outlook
2007 

 ‘Lectro-rock just got a lot more fun.  The trio of former paid Sony pop/hip-hop/rock collaborators, Shitake Monkey, smash an oversized amount of energy into a rubbery box of digitized rock-hop.  Seventeen tracks of fuzzy, blasted alt-rock feels as animated as their simian brethren, Gorillaz, but with more lyrics than rhymes.  

Street Beef has epic production qualities that come from musician/engineers, and swings with originality.  These guys let loose on distinctly cutting-edge tracks and air out a huge amount of beats on a clothesline that stretches between entire neighborhoods.  There’s an undercurrent of asphalted legitimacy that updates a variety of genres – a mash of 15,000 vocals (give or take) and seemingly twice as many beats and noises – compacted into a diamond of an album.

Dropped by Outlook Records, the indie label founded by NFL defensive end Trevor Pryce (what??), Street Beef is the offspring of the Texas-meets-Jersey trio of Chuck Brody, Electric Pete (aka Baby Peanits) and Johnny Rodeo.  Like some three-headed monster surrounded by electronic recording equipment, these three plug in alt-rock, street-hop, and old school croons, into a thorougly live current.  "Maybe Lady" has a 60’s guitar-pop feel that rides on an infectious duh-dum, reverbed lyrics, and whacked out organs.  The next track, "Mad Monkey" is loungy, with falsetto and a mellow trip-hop rhythm.  There’s a thin connection of street-level electronica between each song, similar to that of Ratatat, but far more intricate and extensively developed. 

Shitake Monkey are remniscient of The Avalanches, except they’re not complete samplers, and the vast amount of sounds don’t feel nearly as disconnected.  "On the Radio" is led by a mash of lyrics, a collapsing wall of guitar, and siren-like effects, arranged into a tasty jam that can be spread on even the softest white bread.  This album was built for a good time, whether it be walking like an iPod commercial or throwing down a party.  "Two Dudes" finishes up on a huge chorus that you can’t help but want to sing along with.  The sheer density of each track is both astounding and amusing at the same time because there’s an implied pleasure running throughout the entire album.  

Shitake Monkey’s debut is like that Simpsons moment: Homer: "I’ve got the prescription for you, Doctor… another hot beef injection". It’s hot as hell, with some of the most serious production skills of recent memory.  They’re like the American Gorillaz on some really good crack, and each tune feels like an album’s worth of sound by itself.  

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