PAPER MONKEYS

As I'm eagerly waiting for their new release Technicians of the Sacred, I will review Paper Monkeys, which is their previous offering, and as of typing, still their latest release. Since November 2008, the band had relocated to Colorado, Brandi is American, originally from North Dakota. They hoped this new location will help them concentrate on the North American market. Paper Monkeys was the first since the move, with Ed, Brandi and son Silas (I assume from Ed's previous marriage from Sarah), and American drummer Ollie Seagle. However, the High Park fire in 2012 destroyed their home, and since that time it's unknown where they're staying.

Well, it's another Ozric CD, and while I find the CD enjoyable, it really didn't bring much new to the table that you hadn't already heard before, but then if you like the sound, then there shouldn't be any reason you shouldn't pick up the CD. I found the monkey sounds rather amusing, courtesy of a Brazilian instrument called a cuica, which looks like a little handheld drum with a rod attached to the drumskin that you use a rag to rub the rod to create these squeaky sounds, or in this case, monkey sounds. Another one features the sound of lightning, and given the area of Colorado the Wynnes were living at the time, I wouldn't doubt it was real lightning (they lived in a remote rural location outside of Fort Collins, and I wouldn't doubt if lightning caused the High Park fire). Aside from that, it's the usual guitar/synth dominated space rock you've come to know for all these years. They have never made a bad album, although there are times they did overstretch it a bit (The Floor's Too Far Away, for example, features some totally amazing material, but would have been better if it were cut a bit short, and I felt the same about The Yum Yum Tree). Not to mention there are always Ozric releases I'd have to be more in the mood than others to listen, like Waterfall Cities (I do like it, but a bit on the techno side). I own both the CD and the LP of Paper Monkeys, and this is one of the rare cases where the CD had superior packaging, because it included a fold-out booklet depicting a Graniteware cup, a bunch of monkeys, and photos of the band in their home studio. The LP didn't have that, because it would have been too much of a hassle to fold the booklet back had it been LP-sized. I can't give it a five star rating, because it's a bit of a "been there, done that" type of album, but since I still love what they do, four stars it is.