FFO: Wingz Of The Monkey – Jägermeister Love and Cigarette Kisses | NARC.

Teesside rock’n’rollers Monkey Wings They follow up their debut EP Ape Allegations with a brand new and eqA hugely enthusiastic new five-track album, Jagermeister Love and Cigarette Kisses, featuring three singles released in 2024, as well as two new tracks.

The EP is full of raw, driving riffs, pounding, driving rhythms and sharp, slicing vocals, combining early punk/proto-punk, 90s grunge and stadium rock with an unrestrained, youthful vitality to produce a powerful sound that motivates and invigorates world-weary people to once again rage against the system.

The band has chosen three tracks for the EP’s synopsis, which is set to be released on November 1st…

Cherub Rock – Stunning Pumpkins
We’re not going back to the 90s, we think we’ve created our own unique sound, but our inspiration is very much based on the Grunge Scene, that era. characterized by a raw sound, attitude, and a lifestyle that resonated with a new generation searching for authenticity and self-expression. This track is no different, in 1993, at the height of their fame, Smashing Pumpkins released their album Siamese Dream. The first track, Cherub Rock, set the tone for the rest of the album. The band used a biblical story about the fall of Jesus The angel guarding the gates of the Garden of Eden. The band used this metaphor to express their frustrations with the music industry and the commercialization of alternative rock. Angel Rock became an anthem for anyone disillusioned with the mainstream and longing for something more authentic, this is where Wingz of the Monkey took over and you can hear echoes of that on our EP, the growl and the scuzz and the fuzz and all the good stuff. Our bassist Logan is everywhere on this track with the driving low end and he keeps it tight on the EP too, Stood Up is an example of this.

Not So – Alice in Chains
We love Alice In Chains, their unique sound has had us hooked since we started as a band back in 2022 while still in school. It Ain’t Like That continues to be a powerful testament to a band’s ability to capture raw emotion and personal experiences through their music. Their timeless message about addiction and human struggle continues to resonate with listeners. It’s something we try to capture in our lyrics by dealing with real life situations and experiences. Our guitarist JEEP looks a lot to the Jerry Cantrell tone and presence to push the rhythm and aggression of a riff and sustain it throughout the song, check out Accuser on our EP, that fuzzy wah-wah riff is inspired by Cantrell. We’ve also covered Alice in Chains’ Man in the Box at our live shows and we believe we’ve done it justice.

I’m So Tired – Fugazi
Fugazi’s I’m So Tired is a unique track from their 1999 album Instrument Soundtrack. In contrast to their typical post-hardcore style, this song is a piano ballad sung by Ian MacKaye. The lyrics are very emotional, touching on themes of depression and exhaustion that many listeners find relatable. Why this track? Well, we covered I’m So Tired and now you can hear our version on the EP. We put our own spin on things and the melancholic piano is replaced with melodic guitar, which builds to a very charged and joyful experience with all the qualities of a Fugazi classic. This was the first recording we made in the studio, but we were very close as a band and this track really fueled the whole session. It was an anthem and we had to release it. Pat’s vocals and backing vocals captivated us and brought drummer Ed’s girlfriend to tears when she first heard it.