Hey there…

I have something you don’t have.

I’m listening to it right now.

The opening instrumental jam is playing as you’re reading this and I’m nodding my head with a raised eyebrow that’s tugging on my nostril in that glib way that whitens knuckles. Now the nod is being mixed up a bit with a little head wobble and I’ve used my nostrils to raise my upper lip in what would be a smile if it wasn’t so smug.

I’m so self satisfied right now, I just crossed my left leg so I could tap my right foot.

As ‘Place of Safety’ crumbles away its Goodies’ musical interlude like opening guitar, I could say that it’s because I’m listening to the first free CD I’ve gotten from this gig. But as I’m tempted to put on a sheepskin coat, slick my hair back shiny and go down the local to drink drinks with chunks of pineapple sticking from them as I chomp and roll a cigar through pyrite clad fingers. I’m so damn satisfied because that free CD just happens to be The Tea Monkey’s ‘Hanging Baskets of Babylon’.

A couple of weeks ago; I had the luck of spending time in Krakow and painting the town tartan with Scott ‘The Emperor’ Lewis, guitarist and singer from The Tea Monkeys. A fine sort with good teeth and childbearing hips, he’d fetch a good price at the markets in Brick Lane. But that’s neither here nor there; he is fine company to have a blackout with. More importantly though; his Polish, to be frank, is incredible. I’ve never seen natives react to their own tongue in the way they did when The Emperor tickled their ears with his dulcet mastery of their mother tongue. The word explosive springs to mind.

It was through this accidental meeting of and carousing with Scott ‘The Emperor’ Lewis that I came to have a copy of ‘Hanging Baskets of Babylon’ in my hand. It’s fantastic. What can I say? I really have to review something I don’t like for once or people are going to start thinking I’m taking bribes. I warned Scott when he said he was going to send me the album.

“Leicester is only a flight away my friend, a cheap cheap flight away.”

I’m happy to report that contrary to my initial fears, I won’t have to fly to that god-forsaken place to hunt down a Tea Monkey.

I’ll admit I have a penchant for hoarse, lived-in singers making it sound like they’re straining not to sound like they just woke up under a pile of whores looking for a bottle of night nurse as they’re on stage in five minutes. But it’s honestly hard to get past the third song on the album, ‘Light Up’. It’s like the hit of a summer that never happened, like 1979 and a half or something. One of those hits that, like ‘Golden Brown’ or ‘London Calling’, it never aged and always brought a smile to the crowd.

‘Pot of Gold’ reminds me somewhat of Pete Doherty and for some reason, I’m okay with that. As he’s usually doing his best to sound like better people whom I’m probably thinking of but can’t name off-hand. ‘My time’ comes out poppy rock reggae from under the instrumental track ‘Another half mile’ and again, though in the past I’ve had problems with this sort of shtick, I don’t here.

Maybe it’s because while nearly sounding like several groups, The Tea Monkeys manage to sound very much like, um, The Tea Monkeys? They rock – they reggae it up – there’s a little bit of punk and swing in there – they even funk. Sometimes veering towards sounding a little bit like Rancid (‘Life Won’t Wait’ maybe?) before careening off to sound like themselves once again and on through similar veins. A very strong first album ‘Hanging Baskets of Babylon’ is a summer record. Be that for the immediate summer coming or for brightening up a winter night.

The Tea Monkeys are clearly a talented band galloping towards having their own unique sound perfected and clasped tightly in their furry little monkey paws. I look forward to their second release and hope they live up to the promise shown on this excellent little long player by moving from strength to strength.

The Tea Monkeys Hanging Baskets of Babylon available in both CD and MP3 format on cdbaby