Swirl

Sprung Monkey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Surfdog Records Ada
• ASIN: B000007QQ6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,903 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Swirl

2. Things Are Changing

3. Believe

4. Reluctant Man

5. Segunda

6. Elevator Boy

7. Lines

8. Saturated

9. Right My Wrong

10. Man

11. Push

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Sprung Monkey CD!, April 11, 2000

By 

Gabriel (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swirl (Audio CD)

I first listened to Sprung Monkey when I bought MR FUNNY FACE, and I really liked them. Then I was convinced this band was for real and bought their first major label release SWIRL. It is amazing! It is better than Mr.FF. In Swirl they have a more aggresive, raw, and straight out aggression. They really have some awesome rythms, with intelligent lyrics, fast aggresive heavy guitars and tons of percussion and bass. This is one of the most groundbreaking and awesome bands now. Buy SWIRL and you won't be dissapointed. The stand out tracks in my opinion are #2,3,4,10. But it is good from start to end. Get it!

4.0 out of 5 stars Get Sprung!, October 20, 2011

By 

M. G Watson "Miles Watson" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swirl (Audio CD)

Sprung Monkey is one of those bands which, for better or worse, exists below the radar of pop culture. They aren't famous, dropping their name will produce mainly blank looks and head-scratching, and only hardcore fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" tend recognize either their songs or their sound. None of this matters. Good music is good music, and while I may be a snob, I say sometimes good music is all the better when it isn't shared, but known only to a few keyed-in people lucky enough to have the 411.

SWIRL is a piece of the musically rich 1990s -- a small piece, but a satisfying one, kind of like eating a single slice of really good pizza. It's pretty straightforward rock 'n roll, delivered with a lot of passion and some unusually clever and well-constructed lyrics.

This album has a number of good songs -- "Believe", "Right My Wrong",and "Things Are Changing" "Saturated" and all come to mind -- but the song which epitomizes the band's approach to music is, in my opinion, "Reluctant Man." This song shifts around in its delivery, sometimes almost poignant, sometimes haunting, sometimes angry, and occasionally sneering, but always smoothly, the singer inflecting his voice and carrying the melody from moment to moment as the lyrics demand:

Oh Reluctant Man who's afraid to touch the world
Why are you hiding?
What is the base of all your fears?
Do you find yourself in a cold, cruel world?
Dark and desperate
Scared and lonely
Selfish Man who never gave to anyone else
What are you holding?
Is it worth the price you pay?
'Cause your eyes they see just what you want to see
And I hope they're not staring blindly at me
Cynical Man who looks so hard to find a doubt
Can't you see the truth you're mutilating by what you're fabricating
Oh Destroyer Man knocking holes right through the heart
It's feelings that we're made of
It's feelings you're afraid of
You never cared before
Now you fight for so much more
There's no excuses now I can see you're breaking.

That's a bit better than, oh, say, "Poker Face", isn't it?

SWIRL is not a perfect album. The lead singer's delivery can sometimes sound a bit muddled and underwhelming, possibly because of low-quality production values, and there is...I think this is the right phrase...a bit of a garage-band feel to the whole thing. These aren't megaplatinum-type guys, just dudes who sing from the heart and rock without pretention or much regard for whatever is hip, cool, and popular. In short, if you like straight rock with a bit of an alt/indie feel to it, you may want to give this band a shot. I really doubt you'll regret it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Catchy grunge rock album, September 3, 2011

By 

From Detroit (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Swirl (Audio CD)

I only recently discovered these guys, and this album was my first purchase. Over all, this album really shines. I'm not sure why they didn't make it bigger. They certainly have a lot of talent. I really like the bassist's grove, and the singer has an interesting voice. Once this CD was delivered, I put it in my CD player and it stayed in there for a couple weeks! I highly recommend this if you're a fan of 90's rock!