Paying tribute to rock heavyweights such as Led Zeppelin and Tame Impala while also taking on the irreverent streak of Pond and Mac Demarco, Sydney locals Ego Monkey are a five piece rock group that ardently incorporate classic and contemporary psych rock, alt rock and indie rock influences into their own unique sound.
There’s no monkey business with Ego Monkey, this Sydney five piece take on the best rock music has to offer and deliver it with explosive riffage
Starting out in 2013 as a two piece with a shared passion and eagerness to pay tribute to venerable rock and psychedelic acts, original bandmates Austin ‘Ozzy’ Leake (guitars, vocals) and Luke Brann (drums) recruited schoolmates Brayden Wall (guitar) and Mitch Jones (bass) alongside wildcard Rowan Grover (synth) in 2014 to further develop the band’s sound.
After growing to a quintet and linking up with label Dinosaur Records the group have been focusing on developing their live act supporting locals Richard in Your Mind, Fox and the Hound, Nova and the Experience, Cosmic King and gypsy folk fuelled ska-surf rockers Caravana Sun around the Sydney music scene.
Taking some time out from gigging the group dropped debut single See Me Again in February this year, the first of six tracks from the group’s forthcoming EP to be recorded in July and August. Working in swirling a synth organ to create layered and rich floating psychedelic sound See Me Again tells the narrative of a hurt but dismissive lover’s feeling of abandonment.
Vocalist Austin’s gruff, emotive and melodically unresolved delivery of lyric “You walk out the door” betrays the vulnerability which lies beneath the bravado of the narrator. See Me Again shows the boys have been taken by Pond’s proclivity for compressing a plethora of musical ideas and catchy hooks which could well be spun out into multiple tracks into a single song.
Kicking off with a rolling drum beat which builds into an ascending instrumental introduction the track consists of a verse which captures some of the laid back jangly, glazed-over and sometimes goofy guitar and vocal styling of Mac Demarco and a chorus driven by a crashing alt-rock guitar line that shows the influence of indie bands such as Mutemath. Not content to see things out on a dull note the track concludes with an urgent explosion of psych rock riffage and a sitar inspired guitar tone reminiscent of The Rolling Stones’ Paint it Black.
For those looking to hear more of the group Ego Monkey will playing a headline gig at Sydney music den Captain Cook Hotel with the support of psych-funk outfit Fields of Mars on June 25th.
