Pub debates about bands can get heated, but you can rarely go far wrong if you say “They were better in the early days, before their production got too slick.”

Not so for Monkey Puzzle. While the likes of Pixies, Hole or REM might have sounded more interesting with their earlier, rougher production, Monkey Puzzle are an act in serious need of smoothening.

This two-track demo from the Oxford and Abingdon quartet suffers from low sound quality and poor mixing, which makes it hard to judge the songs on their own merit. However, opener ‘Astro Girl’ is likely to be a strong live track, with its crunchy guitars and infectious hooks.

‘Ashes’ is a disappointment after that. It’s too long, an attempt to be epic that doesn’t come off, although perhaps it would work with better production values and some more instrumentation to flesh out the melody.

I feel that it’s probably completely unfair to judge Monkey Puzzle on the strength of their demo. The kicking drums and impassioned vocals suggest they can do so much more than comes across on this record. They gig regularly, so anybody interested in how the band really sound would be better advised to see them live, where you can enjoy their stage presence and a cold beer at the same time. And perhaps afterwards you’ll be able to revive the classic pub debate about whether good production is always the enemy of keeping it real.

Monkey Puzzle Myspace

By Kate Griffin

Space Heroes of the People are superbly named. Not only does their group moniker trip poetically off the tongue, but it perfectly marries two ideas important to the music: other-worldliness balanced with earthiness. The former is most obvious from the dominance of eighties synthesiser lines and Daft-Punk vocoder vocals, the latter from the rather home-made feel of the production and the incorporation of real drums and Jo Edge’s rough-hewn double bass fills.

Their latest EP, ‘Motorway to Moscow’ begins with the kitsch masterpiece that is ‘Barbie is a Robot’. Daft Punk seems to be the main influence, but the cuteness and catchiness of the melodic lines both in the synths and vocals suggest the odd nod to Devo as well. Programmer Tim Science unfolds the material expertly, periodically throwing in new sounds and lines to keep the journey interesting. Did I mention that it is supremely danceable? Hats off to the improbably-named drummer Lizz Skywalker.

Following up is the Kraftwerk-inspired ‘Shiny, Shiny’, which maintains the dancey groove which makes Space Heroes such an enticing live prospect. The double-bass constantly threatens to drop out of tune, but never quite does; its function seems to be to add melodic interest and stop the track becoming too clinical, which it achieves pretty well.

Slightly less successful is ‘Steam Driven’ which starts prettily but then develops into something sounding like Matthew Corbett’s Sweep fronting Visage. (Come on Tim, there’s uber-Kitsch and then there’s just bloody annoying). The track is also a bit of a plod rhythmically, so it’s with relief that the listener moves onto the title track, which pings along the Autobahn in sprightly shuffle mode. Sonically, it’s a powerful combination of subtle organ-like lines, the sort of smothering, monstrous pads the Killers love to break out, and cheerful car-horn parps. The latter captures the spirit perfectly: the track, despite the grim Soviet undertones of the title, is less Stalin and more Mr Toad. Indeed, the spirit of that merry soul is present in most of this record; it has a dangerous carelessness, but its joie-de-vivre triumphs over all.

Space Heroes of The People Myspace

By Colin MacKinnon.