MONKEYWRENCH - Electric Children LP

Highly recommended.

Recorded in Seattle in 1999, this monster record now reissued on vinyl. As soon as the opening track of Electric Children begins, you realize The Monkeywrench have gotten much tighter on their second album, since their debut eight years before.

The production also seems more raw, possibly due to the fact that 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 is the absence of Arm's trademark piano and organ. This enhances the energy, causing you to notice a more frantic, electrified side of the band. As on the debut album, several genres of music are given equal time, 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", plus the noise rock of closing number, "In the Days of the Five".

The Monkeywrench have grown in their ability to craft a song, and the result is a masterpiece.

Check this band: Mark Arm (Mudhoney, Bloodloss), Steve Turner (Mudhoney), Tim Kerr (Big Boys), Tom Price (Gas Huffer, U-Men), Martin Bland (Bloodloss, Lubricated Goat).