Apes
Baba’s Mountain
Birdman
Take Grandaddy’s rustic analogue parade through a haunted, psychedelic bass-synth forest, and you’ll end up somewhere in the neighborhood of The Apes’ Baba’s Mountain. This is, of course, the same bearded community where bands like Black Mountain and Oneida have set up shop, and where all the food and drink are as acid-laced as possible. The Apes, though still opting often for a bludgeoning sound, rely decidedly more on the pop hooks than the rock riffs of their compatriots.
The band’s assault weapon of choice, the organ, though heavy on the low-end, takes the place of guitar throughout. The results are some thick, echoing melodies that crackle like fraying synapses. While the organ’s inclusion alone lends them to psychedelica, The Apes slip in subtle pastoral colors – like the harpsichord on “The Zookeeper’s Night Out” – to blow drug-addled minds while tapping into the other half of the Summer of Love. It’s a very Hunter S. Thompson-vision of the ’60s. Oh, did I mention it’s a concept album concerning The Apes’ deadly joyride up the titular mountain that may or may not have involved demons, cannibalism and some sort of mystic named Mortis? How can you possibly resist?
Birdman: http://www.thebirdmangroup.com
