The Bigger Picture

It’s Monk Time Again

by Bob Moses

Light in the Attic, the genre-defying Seattle indie label, has been on a tear recently, what with last month’s reissue of Serge Gainsbourg’s melodically adventurous and morally suspect opus, Histoire De Melody Nelson, and this month’s twin reissues of the entire recorded legacy of the Monks.

Pounding, insistent and improbably entertaining, the Monks presaged much of the experimental edge of punk rock, and have been covered and lauded by everyone from The Fall to Faust. Five GIs stationed in Germany in the early 60s, the Monks stripped the beat-happy sound of the 60s to nearly-all beat, heavy on the fuzz bass, organ and electric banjo. Reversing the pop sound of the time, vocals and melody take a back seat to repeated rhythmic chants and drumming. They confused audiences (and angered some in Germany, as bassist Eric Shaw tells Mojo) with their tonsured hair and noose neckwear. Videos from German television show the Monks gathered around guitars flung to the floor and feeding back, using them as percussion: could be most any Sonic Youth show.

The Light in the Attic reissues include The Early Years 1964-1965 and the only studio release, Black Monk Time. Though previously released, these well-researched reissues include photos, essays, and bonus material, including pre-Monk recordings of the jazzier Torquays and some later Monks 7”s. An essential link to punk’s past, missing no longer.

The Monks: Oh How To Do Now

The Monks: Boys Are Boys