Monkey Mind – Monkey Mind LP (People Of Punk Rock Records)

It has been a while since we covered some melodic punk rock on our pages, but things are about to change thanks to a self-titled debut full-length by Monkey Mind, which has recently arrived at our headquarters. The folks involved in this exceptional group are no strangers. Quite the contrary, you’ve had a chance to hear them before in bands such as Crashed Out or Toy Dolls. Consisting of Lee Wright (Crashed Out), Michael Olga (Toy Dolls), and Martin Paynton, Monkey Mind is all about delivering premium punk rock to the table, and that’s the case with their self-titled debut.

These folks play melodic punk rock, but their music is hard to define in simplistic terms. Perhaps early nineties American pop-punk comes to mind, but these folks drenched their songs in that recognizable British rawness and energy. Of course, you’ll stumble upon some sonic ingredients borrowed from classic punk rock and power pop, but these elements serve as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that uplift this excellent self-titled debut album on an entirely new level. The best part about it is that Monkey Mind continuously levitate between modern and retro sound, creating such a fresh and unique ambiance that will appeal to even the pickiest listeners.

Tracks like “Mr. Wright,” “There’s Something About Lauren,” “Girl In Jar,” “Bad Milo,” “Get Rid Of Him,” “She’s A High Vibration,” “Sling Ya Hook,” and “Local Lass” are definitely the highlights of this material, but the entire album is incredibly good with no bad songs on it. With decades of experience on their backs, Lee, Olga, and Martin wisely wrote, composed, recorded, and produced a comprehensive collection of mesmerizing melodic punk rock songs where flawlessly sang vocal harmonies, anthemic singalongs, cleverly arranged themes, leads, catchy chord progressions, powerful riffs, equally complex basslines, and outstanding drumming performance based upon energetic, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics shine in each segment of every song.

Lee Wright already proved himself as a guitarist extraordinaire by delivering premium instrumentations in Crashed Out, but his creativity and talent shine bright on this particular material even more. Every song has a memorable melodies, harmonies, themes, and leads that will convince you to repeat this material over and over again. He’s a versatile guitar player who can play any music genre with such ease. Olga showcases he’s not only an exceptional guitar virtuoso but also a skillful bass player who plays a significant role here. Martin keeps the remainder of the instrumentations with his magnificent drumming, and this album wouldn’t sound as good as it is without his energetic rhythmic acrobatics. As soon as you press play, you’ll notice that Monkey Mind are not joking around with their music, and their debut will become your go-to whenever you need top-tier melodic punk rock music.

This outstanding debut album is available on cobalt blue vinyl, housed in a high quality jack with an eye-peeling illustration. As far as I am informed, this version is limited to 100 copies only so head to Monkey Mind’s social media pages or People Of Punk Rock Records for more information about ordering.