The Monsters have a long history of noise-making that stretches back to the ‘80s. At that time, they had more of a psychobilly sound, evidenced on their releases Masks and The Hunch. But they evolved along the way, gradually transforming their sound into the weird, crazy shit it is today. Pure garage punk and trash rock. A sound that has only gotten dirtier, more frantic, and weirder along the way. This is especially so on the Swiss band’s latest release, You're Class, I'm Trash.
For this one, bandleader Beat-Man and his fellow rockers have put together a 15-song album of loud, raw material. Probably the punkest album they’ve ever written. Sure, they still serve up the fuzzy, trashed-out garage fare many of us have come to expect from them over the years. They are still The Monsters in every way that matters, but this album is an entirely new beast…and it has bite. I mean, these guys dress like they should be performing oldies at a country club event, but don’t let that fool you—they sound like wild things that crawled out of the gutter with a rabid hunger to make music.
The lyrics on this album aren’t terribly complex. You won’t find much poetry or philosophy tucked into the lines. Still, there’s something there. The opening track, Gimme Germs, could be a statement about missing human contact during the pandemic, or maybe it’s just meant to express that he’s horny. The next song, Smell My Tongue, while interesting, seems like absolute nonsense. Both songs are ragers. But track three, Carpool Lane, starts off a little different, with a mighty riff that segues into distorted strumming and a pounding beat, which then devolves into noise, recovers, and then gives us a quiet moment reminiscent of classic rock. Dead is also a little different, with a fuzzy progression, a deliberately sloppy lead that weaves its way through the composition, and no vocals aside from a few well-placed screams. And the album continues with gems as Stranger to Me, Blasphemy, Yellow Snow Drink, Electrobike Asshole, Get Drunk on You, I Love You, Devil Baby, and My Up is Your Down.
Check The Monsters out for yourself. And if you dig their sound, you might want to check out their frontman’s other projects: Lightning Beat-Man, Reverend Beat-Man, and Die Zorros, among others.
You’re Class, I’m Trash is available now from Voodoo Rhythm Records.
