Minority are a four-piece outfit who hail from Ipswich. They’ve gained themselves quite a reputation in the local scene, and have subsequently ventured outside East Anglia. ‘Monkeys Are Fun‘ is their debut EP and sees the self-proclaimed kings of “Monkey Punk†bashing through four tracks.
The first thing that strikes you about the band is how much they obviously want to be Blink 182. Not only do they have similar sounding songs, but they also have the obligatory ‘humourous lyrics’. What the world doesn’t need right now is another generic pop punk band. However, despite the obvious stylings of the band you can’t help but like most of their songs. They are infectious and they do have the ability to raise a smile at times.
Opener ‘Ballad of Doughboy’ is the weakest of the four tracks on offer. It is just a very unoriginal song about drinking. The music isn’t strong, and the lyrics are even worse. However, ‘Deadbeat’ is a vast improvement. It’s a catchy and fast paced tune that would grab the attention of many a pop punk fan. ‘50p Sally’ is quite probably a reject from ‘Dude Ranch’ whereas ‘Adventures of a Pyromaniac’ is the best that the band have to offer on this EP, and hints that the band may have their own identity.
‘Monkeys Are Fun‘ is a strange beast. It is one of the most generic and unoriginal EP’s I’ve heard this year, yet because the songs are played well there is some listening pleasure to be found. I just hope that Minority can develop their own identity rather than being another pop punk clone in a very over-saturated genre.
Mark