CHEEKY MONKEY is a unique Transatlantic collaboration between NY singer-songwriter Michael Shelley and Glasgow's own Francis Macdonald. Shelley is a wonderful Brooklyn-based singer/somgwriter/barman who once had a combo with Michael J. Fox. Macdonald has played with several Glasgow pop outfits and now drums with Speeder (a name to watch out for) and Radio Sweethearts. |
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Here comes the album tracklisting, or you can check out some UK press reviews or press reaction from the USA ...
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"Breezy pop...simply charming"
-Melody
Maker
"Cheeky Monkey make beautiful jangly
music on their 'Four Arms To Hold You' LP, out now on
Shoeshine…"
-Kitty
Empire, NME
"There are some marvellously slushy
moments, like Robery Lloyd and the heartfelt tribute to American
sportsman 'Gerry Cheevers'…"
-James
Wirth, NME
"Irreverent pop fun...good-time
tunes"
-Johnny
Black, MOJO
"Monkey Man and I Wanna Live With You
are excellent pop tunes…sounds like Simon & Garfunkel
covering The Lemonheads"
-Vox
Magazine
"Sounds like Teenage Fanclub, The
Everly Brothers and Belle And Sebastian singing gamely about
apes, unrequited love and bondage"
-Select
Magazine
"Country/soul pop" ***
-Tower
Records Top Magazine
"Occasionally chirpy buy above all
melancholy semi-acoustic indie-pop"
-Teletext
"Rock n roll meets up-tempo surfing
blues with more than a hint of The Lemonheads. Betters still,
they've got a song called "Uddingston Church Gun
Terror" - that'll do me."
-Chris
Charles, Ceefax
"Gloriously goofy, shamelessly
soft-centred…a cocktail of heart combusting Fanclub-like
loveliness and Jonathan Richmanesque whimsy"
-The
List
"Like Ben Folds Five meets the
Fountains Of Wayne…brimming with happy hooks, effervescent
harmonies and deft middle eights, over a jangly, mainly acoustic
guitar backdrop."
-Hot
Press
"This is a damn fine album"
-Degrees
North, Sunderland University Student Magazine
"Cool - 8/10"
-Bare Facts, Surrey University Student Magazine
"This album is good"
-Platform, Nottingham Student University Magazine
"...a superb retro affair...if Ben
Folds had been Eddie Cochran instead of Jerry Lee Lewis he'd be
writing songs like these."
-Impact, Nottingham University
"...a damn fine album..."
-Degrees North, Sunderland
"A sweet mid-Atlantic pop handshake
between Glasgow scenester Francis Macdonald and New York indie
sort Michael Shelley, Cheeky Monkey are a sublimely confident
collaboration. Shelley brings Johnathan Richman and The
Lemonheads to the party, Macdonald remind us of his Teenage
Fanclub connections. Songs like 'Gerry Cheevers', 'Robert Lloyd
and the mock-sexy 'Chasin' Each Other Around The Room' are
lovable three-minute vignettes of life in lovelorn land"
-The
Scotland On Sunday
"Four Arms To Hold You is sure to be
among the records of the year for all tune and turn-of-phrase
minded listeners…it could be the soundtrack to your glorious
summer."
-The
Glasgow Herald
"...short, sweet and summery"
-Inverness
Courier
"12 fresh-sounding songs"
-The
Sunday Post
"A worthy collection of quirky pop
songs in the Jonathan Richman vein"
-Glasgow
Evening Times
"Goofy...gooey...pleasant"
-The
Scotsman
"Sheer brilliance!"
-The
Hamilton & Motherwell People
"People will soon be going nuts for
Cheeky Monkey on both sides of the Atlantic"
-The
Sunday Mail
"Well constructed pop tunes...catchy
melodies and imaginative but unpretentious lyrics"
-Bellshill
Speaker
"A scruffily catchy long player
brimming with upbeat melodies and killer vocals"
-The
Hamilton Advertiser
"Playlisted"
-Canterbury
College Radio
"Playlisted"
-University Radio York
"Playlisted"
-Livewire, University Of East Anglia
"Playlisted"
-Bailrigg FM, Lancaster University
"Playlisted"
-University Radio Nottingham
"Playlisted"
-Purple FM, Durham University
"Album Of The Week"
-West
FM, Ayr
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE ALBUM FOR ONLY £9.99
"The sound is similar to Teenage
Fanclub, Tom Petty and the Traveling Wilburys. The opening track
is brilliantly melodic with great hooks and a catchiness to rival
flypaper."
-Arizona Daily Wildcat "A delightful acoustic, rock
an roll injected, shuffle beat driven heap of fun."
-Shake
It Up
"Why is this such a good album? Sure,
there are a lot of pop bands out there right now, but few sound
as professional as Cheeky Monkey. The songs themselves sound as
though they are a cross breed of Sebadoh and Weezer, with a dash
of pink bubble gum thrown into the mix. Songs are so catchy you
find yourself singing along before the song is even over."
-San Francisco Foghorn
"This is crisp, clean,
shot-from-the-hip likeable pop rock--60's sound with a 90's
sarcasm. Thank the lord for pop."
-Rock
Love
"One listen and you can tell these guys
are out to make serious music while having loads of fun. Cheeky
Monkey tries its hand at anything from sex-driven fantasies to
lonely ballads and just downright silly songs. Perhaps the most
signature aspect of Cheeky Monkey is the randomly styled lyrics,
which are not strange enough to puzzle, and not typical enough to
keep a straight face. "
-Stanford Daily
"These guys sing and play well
together. The upbeat pop tunes are boosted to a higher level by
superior melodies and some killer vocals. Pure simple fun."
-Baby
Sue
"A jewel of a record whose charm is
instant and undeniable. The touching 'I Wanna Live With You'
captures the jubilant optimism of new love; the dark and
depressing 'Down' is equally beautiful, if considerably less
cheerful. Cheeky Monkey's collective sense of humor shines on
'Big Dumb Boy' and 'Monkey Man,' an irresistible slice of jungle
rock replete with big drums, a crazy Bo Diddley beat and punny
lyrics. the album's sole cover is Chixdiggit's 'Gerry Cheevers,'
a touchingly earnest song that successfully ties together a
broken heart and the former Bruins' goalie. It's a fitting
addition to this album, the musical equivalent of a slap shot
between the pads."
-Amplifier
"A great buy at any price."
-Omaha
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