Customer Reviews

Stoned Nation Radio

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw Jolly Mon open up for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies at the Offramp in Seattle four or five years ago and thought they were really good. I've always considered their CD, Sailing, to be a great underground gem in my collection and thought it would be hard for them to top it. But I would say that Stoned Nation Radio is as good, even better than Sailing. Some of my favorite CD's took a couple of listenings before they really hit me as being phenomenally good, but this one is instantly recognizable as a GREAT CD. It can't be said of many bands (maybe Zeppelin and Jane's Addiction) that they are simultaneously heavy and ethereal, but this one definitely has both qualities. (Comparisons to those two bands end there, though) I would say this CD can induce a state of pleasant,hypnotic, hyper-awareness, and you can't keep your body still to these funky grooves. On the harder, thrashier songs, I am thankful that they have no need to sing in that generic "I can talk like a monster" voice that so many bands with no singing talent resort to in order to sound cool. My favorite songs on it are Listen to the Sound, Boom, A Lot, and Shark.

These guys are increasingly getting better and better. This album is probably my favorite. Their style nowadays is leaning more towards a heavy phat groove. If you like Floater, Jolly Mon is a recommended tasting of what else is in Oregon.

I saw Jollymon play La Luna, last March, for the first time. I heard them advertised on the radio as "one of the top three acts to look for coming out of the Northwest." Being a regular concert-goer and living in the Northwest for the last fifteen years, yet not having seen anything of Jollymon, with the exception of a bumper-sticker, it made me feel strangely out of the loop. I went to the show having no idea what to expect. What I got was a high-energy group of five playing in a neo-funk, fusion style. Their live act seemed to be geared towards teenage boys with raging hormones and anyone else susceptible to visual gimmickry. They offered a scantly clad whore, looking as though she'd been picked off the street corner moments before getting on stage, wriggling about to add to the abundance of visual stimuli. One can't help but wonder what substance, if any, lie beneath the visual distractions. However, there were combinations of elements that I found appealing. At times they wielded psychedelia ala The Doors, with hard funk augmented by an almost Metal guitar tone. I found the drumming curiously inventive at times, often intermingling sly cymbal work with odd-time patterns. The vocals, however, were curiously inaudible. I left the show wondering if that missing element would complement the music enough to make this a band I might add to my listening rotation. I ordered this CD (their latest) and gave it a spin. There is a great deal lost from the live act to the studio recordings. I found the vocals on these recordings to be even more of a distraction than those offered in their live act. The lifeless, uncharacteristic vocals were, quite frankly, torturous at times. In more than one instance I found this vocal performance, which I'd describe as Barney Fife stoned out of his mind, to be off key and off time. Even more of a hindrance to the music is the lyrics. The childish and trivial content of the lyrics lends nothing to this production. In fact, they sharply inhibit other elements to fully realize themselves. The sexually explicit lyrics to songs like, "I Like" and "Budget Geto Bootie" are neither humorous nor original, just plain stupid. I can only give this CD one star because it seems misdirected and ineffective in its intent. If I were reviewing their live act I would give them three stars for the energy and entertainment value. If I were to pick the lesser of evils, I would save my money for the live spectacle they put on