Search - Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds :: Philosophy And Underwear

The retro haze has obscured some of the original "new wave" era's more risk-taking artists, especially those from the West Coast. As a member and cofounder of the legendary/seminal The Gun Club with Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Kid Congo Powers made a unique brand of rock that mixed blues, campy theatrics, nihilistic punk and tribal beats. Yet unlike other acts making a revival, Powers never truly went away. Quite a resume this "Kid" has, considering he has been a Co-conspirator of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the cramps, khan, foetus, Lydia lunch, die haut, little annie, julee cruise, and michale gira. Kid has continued to find the most interesting partners with whom he creates a varied batch of devilish sounds. Which is exactly what he is doing with his band kid congo & the pink monkey birds now in 2005 in New York City, his home of the last ten years. KCP & The PMB?S have just finished recording their first album, "Philosophy and Underwear" to be released on Trans ! Solar records in october 2005. As the title may lead one to believe, the album is a highbrow, and often humorous, viewpoint of a tough and sleazy low life world Kid?s character?s inhabit. Hurbert Hunke?s 1940?s Times Square in "Johnny", Shakespeare?s Richard III unrequited loves haunt modern guys in "Richard Three" S&M Leather Men?s inner struggles in "Even Though Your Leather is Cliché" or the post 9/11 breakup of a relationship in "The Weather The War". Although heady, and heavy subjects, the music is a mélange of stomping soul swagger, angular No-Wave, Glam era Lou Reed "Transformer" celebrations and New York stories. Guitars scream like banshees, drums swing from the rafters, bass lines snake charm, and electronics reference more Roxy Music Eno than the over exhausted electroclash. Mixed with Kid?s casual laconic and resonant talk/sing style, whether dueting with a Little Annie or doing it solo, Kid gives heartfelt performances, his inspiration carefully skirting ironic tendencies that lesser artists would mistake as "camp", which is a delicate artform in and of itself. Rather than presenting from the side, he stands behind the characters and themes of his songs.