Sketchyyyy Tunes: Apes and Androids

I remember the first time I ever heard David Bowie's "Space Odyssey". I was about nine and my father would walk around the apartment singing "Can you hear me Major Tom, can you hear me Major Tom, can you heeeeeeeeeeeeeere am I floating in a tin can". (Believe me, this seemed completely normal at that age.) However, something about the spatial lyrics and detoured melody caught my attention, enough so to tug on my father's shirt-tail and ask him about it. Needless to say, hearing the track for the first time through a pair of stellar headphones is quite a mind bending experience - especially for a nine-year old. This is a feeling that is almost impossible to duplicate under any circumstance, but when I heard Blood Moon from Apes and Androids, I felt like that little boy again with his mouth agape and frantic eyes skimming along with the audio roller coaster that was flooding my senses.


("On our planet, it rains confetti. Our planet wins.")

AA are a mindfuck of bleeps and blips, shooting star hymns, and a gaggle of other instruments and effects that may very well include the kitchen sink (a futuristic kitchen sink that is); all of which mesh to provide the perfect pop soundtrack straight from Mars. With a name like Apes and Androids it's a given that you're going to sound a bit out-there, yet the sound these fellas produce makes the Klaxons seem like Woody Guthrie.

First off, the intro track, "Blood Moon 1" sounds like the opening scene in E.T. where the mothership lands in a secluded forest. You don't necessarily have to be Scully and Mulder in order for that to get your nipples hard. Tracks "Nights of the Week", "Sweetest Secret", and "Radio" are dance hall anthems for the year 3072. Though each track is unique in its own way, "Golden Prize" is a clear stand-out with it's hypnotic hip-hop borrowed beat pulsating before breaking into a Middle Eastern soundscape that could very well charm snakes with its crescendoing falsettos.

The Brooklyn-based band attempt to create a sci-fi ambiance in their blistering live shows comparable to their studio sound with a vortex of visual aids including mask-wearing cheerleaders, gigantic silver skulls, and even a Korean drum circle. As if these obvious eye-catchers weren't enough, the members themselves frequently perform donning neon colored leggings, sleazy tank tops, and glittery makeup a la Ziggy Stardust. But pervading through their glitz and glam aesthetic are tunes that are as fun and original as they are ambitious. I fucking love being nine again.





Sketchy Rating: Optimus Prime made you a badass mix-tape...and now you want him to DJ your next party.