EP: MUNKY - Un, Deux, Trois, Cat

Photo: Gary Morris-Roe

Released just yesterday, Dublin blues / funk / rock / jam four-piece MUNKY shared their debut EP, Un, Deux, Trois, Cat. The five-track release is the culmination of over 2 years' hard graft, bursting onto the local live scene at the very beginning of 2017. 

Opener 'Zordon' is exactly what fans of MUNKY want and will remind them vividly of their live shows, a stomping bass drum and dirty blues-infused guitar riffs set the tone, and the tone is cool. Half-way through and you're recalling teenage fantasies of being in Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple, this is hard rock, hallelujah. 

What a song-title! 'Cuck Rock' hits the funk button with some devilish wah-wah guitar. Frontman Zac Stephenson delivers a satirical but scathing rebuke to the dregs of 4Chan with lines such as; "...it seems dumb to me to reduce a complex organism to the bits they were given, and piss out of, pisses me off, then this prick starts calling me a pussy, does that mean you want to fuck me too? FUCK YOU." It's a very serious moment amongst a collection of songs that veer toward light-heartedness for the most part. What I didn't see happening here was MUNKY jumping off the cliff into smashed up punk territory in the song's final third.

Starting smack bang in the middle of a ferocious guitar-driven blowout, a trundling rhythm and percussion trade punches with vox in a musical mosh-pit. There's a delightful break at 2:17 that oozes a disdainful cool before ratcheting up the tempo for one final smash and grab. For me the key enjoyment in MUNKY's sound is how they combine classic rock with contemporary guitar riffs, and the most subtle strand of satirical stadium rock characteristics.

A choral intro on 'Ms. Communication' sees MUNKY usher in the calmest moment on the EP, placating their own preference for funky laid-back jams whilst also highlighting another one of their many faces. It was never going to end any other way than balls to the wall though, latest single 'One in Five' scorches all before it with a bristling salvo. Searing inter-play between guitars are tempered with a spoken-word interlude courtesy of Stephenson, an emotionally-charged reflection on the continuing difficulties faced by victims of sexual assault in a supposedly caring society.

If you had a basic checklist, MUNKY's Un, Deux, Trois, Cat would get a royal flush, fans of any kind of rock music will easily get on board, fans of the blues will get in bed with them, and fans of good guitar-based music will only get enjoyment from these five tracks. Great musicians, great live performers, and now great in the studio, what could possibly go wrong!? (T.V.'s out windows).



MUNKY play a headline show in The Grand Social on Friday, 12th of April, event info is here https://www.facebook.com/events/2283727248352994/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Gmo0NmOzN8lpazlHL3qdA?si=AQFJ80gsT_iwZzVuoY_r7w

https://munky2.bandcamp.com/