The Monkeywrench - Electric Children (LP, RE, RM)

Label: Bang! Records

Recorded in Seattle in 1999, this Monster record is now being reissued on vinyl remastered by Jack Endino.Check out this band:Mark Arm (Mudhoney, Bloodloss)Steve Turner (Mudhoney)Tim Kerr (Big Boys)Tom Price (Gas Huffer, U-Men)Martin Bland (Bloodloss, Lubricated Goat)As soon as the opening track of Electric Children begins, you realize that the Monkeywrench have gotten much tighter on this, their second album, since their debut eight years earlier. The production also seems rawer, possibly because the band moved from Conrad Uno to veteran Seattle producer Jack Endino, who also engineered the first releases from bassist Steve Turner and vocalist Mark Arm's other band, Mudhoney. Also contributing to the rawness of the record is the absence of Arm's signature piano and organ. This heightens the energy, revealing a more frantic, electrified side of the band. As on the debut album, Clean as a Broke-Dick Dog, several genres are given equal billing, including the country of "Thirteen Nights" and "The Empty Place," the rockabilly of "The Weasel's in the Barn," the Eastern modal quality of "Around Again," and the noise rock of the closing track, "In the Days of the Five." The Monkeywrench have grown in their ability to craft a song, and the result is a masterpiece.Licensed by Estrus Records.