Martin Martini & The Bone Palace Orchestra’s second foray into the studio, We’re All Just Monkeys, marks a progression; a real maturity and tightness in their work. Musically they have traded some of their chaos for depth but sacrificed none of their subversion.
From a love story between a monkey and a sardine (Monkey and Sardine) to a song that Eddie Perfect has described as the kind of song you’d slow dance to at the wedding of a couple you just know aren’t going to make it (Knife), Martini’s music forces you to really listen rather than just let you take it in passively like a passenger. And like George Orwell, the man he quotes in the liner notes of the album, he refuses to just sit down and shut up.
And we are grateful. This album tips its hat to what the Australian Music scene fucking needs right now – originality. To see it launched at the Supper Club last Friday made you feel privileged. It was a show like no other. The Crooked Fiddle Band were probably the most perfect support act – their gypsy rock stylings had the audience a little afraid at the beginning, but once the violin came out everyone realised how much goddamn fun these guys were. The drummer’s kit included a metal trash can to the left of the hi hat – which I felt was a very apt illustration of their sound (as in exciting and different – not garbage). In fact I was almost concerned they would out do the headliners.
Hah, no need to worry. Martin and his Orchestra came on stage and right from the start they made it clear they were a force to be reckoned with. Fusing hip hop with dark metal, gypsy with some polka, and all round general mayhem, it was a unique experience that was more than just fun. It was challenging, ground breaking, and that’s not something you see every day. Driving rhythms and screaming anti love songs never sounded so good and i’ve not danced so much in many moons.
Martin and his Bone Palace Orchestra are off to fly this flag in the UK – about to embark on a 3 week stint at London’s Soho Theatre in September – and they will no doubt do us proud.
Music Feeds recently had a chat with Martin Martini and you are able to eaves drop on that chat at http://musicfeeds.com.au/interviews/576/martin-martini-at-the-supper-club/
This album makes me want to party till the petrol runs out – it rocks my face. The end.
