Wolfmanhattan Project and An Interview With Kid Congo Powers & Show # 795

Wolfmanhattan Project is a band made up of Mick Collins (The Gories, The Dirtbombs), Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Gun Club and The Pink Monkey Birds) and drummer Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus) that first had a single out in in 2015. The single which featured the song “Smells Like You” backed with “You Are My Glue”, was described on In The Red Records website as “trashy, swampy, sleazy, damaged music you'd expect from the gentlemen involved." In April of 2019, a full-length album was released from this group entitled Blue Gene Stew. This long awaited debut album creates its own musical atmosphere with elements of garage, punk and no wave. Lyrically, the music often ventures into sci-fi obsessions, conspiracy theories and a psychedelic trippiness.

Blue Gene Stew starts off with “Delay Is The Deadliest”. Sung by Bob Bert, the song features off kilter guitar riffs travelling into punk and no wave territory while lyrically Bert rants over top. “Now Now Now” digs into a deeper psychedelic groove. Kid Congo Powers vocals levitate above the dual guitar attack that he and Collins deliver with the words “What you say is what you do now/Cause what you say is what you do now now now” that repeat themselves in a hallucinogenic fashion. “Braid of Smoke” floats into the listener’s subconscious with a gritty, R&B psych style as Collins sings visual, abstract lyrics. The song ends in an explosion of drums and distorted guitar solos. “I Feel You” features sci-fi sounding effects with cowbell and primal drums throughout this rockabilly rave-up with raunchily poetic lyrics supplied by Powers, “Sticky” is a sleazy garage song with lyrics projecting a modern day paranoia, “Jar in a Suitcase” revels in its strangeness. Featuring Lydia Lunch, the song portrays an experimental spooky, sci-fi funky aesthetic as Lunch and Collins trade off vocals, while “Silver Sun” deflects a grimy garage aesthetic.

“Toynbee Tiles” unwinds itself with the tale of the mystery of the Toynbee Tiles. These tiles began appearing mysteriously in US major cities in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Although their origin is still unknown, these tiles were found embedded in the asphalt in the streets of about two dozen US major cities and places in South America. They bore the message “Toynbee idea/In 2001 movie/Resurrect the dead/On planet Jupiter.” This message appears throughout this song in different variations, sung by Bob Bert in a chant-like way between complex samba rhythms, strange Doppler sound effects and pitch altered vocals that move with a beat poetry make up putting the listener into a trance-like state. The song explores a futuristic, yet surrealist sonic soundscape that could easily apply itself to our modern day outlook of the world. “Last Train to Babylon” ends Blue Gene Stew. This song brings forth a sort of distracted blues with psychedelic sounding guitar effects as the drums hold down the centre. Lyrically, Collins sings, “Flying saucers landing now/Deliver us the newborn king,” and “The towers of Babylon are burning/Board the train and seal the deal” stressing the need for something new among the ongoing chaos and destruction.

Recorded over several sessions, Blue Gene Stew features baritone guitars. This type of guitar differs from a standard guitar. It is a deeper sounding guitar with a longer scale length. The album also features standard guitar, along with drums and other instruments that all add to the overall sound of Blue Gene Stew. While their previous musical foundations still permeate the music on this album, Blue Gene Stew is not exactly what you might expect from Mick Collins, Kid Congo Powers and Bob Bert. With Blue Gene Stew, Wolfmanhattan Project explores a different musical landscape. It is one weird, wild trip that you won’t be able to forget you took.

Listen to Revolution Rock's Interview with Kid Congo Powers here:



Show 795 (Kid Congo Powers Interview):

1. Wilco - Everyone Hides
2. Surf Curse - River's Edge
3. Angel Olsen - What It Is
4. Kurt Vile (Featuring The Sadies) - Baby's Arms
5. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen Speaks
6. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Rare as the Yeti

KID CONGO POWERS INTERVIEW PT.I

7. Gun Club - Eternity Is Here
8. The Cramps - Rockin' Bones
9. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - City of Refuge

KID CONGO POWERS INTERVIEW PT.II

10. Wolfmanhattan Project - Now Now Now
11. Teenanger - Bank Account
12. Psychic Void - Dirty Hands (CJAM Session)
13. The Leather Uppers - 1000 Lashes
14. Orville Peck - Winds Change
15. Bloodshot Bill - Be My Own
16. Light Bulb Alley - Roads Must Part
17. Wax Mannequin - Chance to Dance
18. Women - Locust Valley
19. The Cramps - Thee Most Exalted Potentate of Love (Live)
20. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - La Arana

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 5.

Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds La Arana Es La Vida & Show # 623

Kid Congo Powers first began his career as a musician being a guitarist in bands such as The Gun Club (who he helped form), The Cramps and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. That resume is enough to make people turn heads, but after playing with numerous bands as a guitarist, he ventured out on his own, forming his own band in 2005 with his first release being the album Solo Cholo. In 2009, Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds released Dracula Boots, a critically acclaimed album that stomped with the sounds of garage rock, 50’s rock n’ roll, soul and Chicano rock. Released on In The Red Records, La Arana Es La Vida is the fourth album by Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds.

Congo and crew create a deep groove, blending the primal sounds of rock n’ roll along with other related sub-genres and Chicano rock once again. This effort is equally as strong and features the addition of guitarist Mark Cisneros, who brings a fresh perspective to the Pink Monkey Birds sound. The sounds on this album definitely lend themselves to the garage and surf genres, but the album at times sounds soulful as if Andre Williams and Billy Childish are playing on the same track. The album has much more depth than that especially when you look closer into the title, which is a reference to Mexican folklore. La Arana is the Great Spider Goddess of Teotihuacan. Kid Congo Powers had this to say about the connection to this folk tale in an interview done with New Noise Magazine:

“She sprouts hallucinogenic morning glories and protects the underworld. I thought that is very much like our duty as a band, to have the most open mind to vivid psychedelic dreams to create and protect the world of underground music, the music of the soul. Protect it from unimaginative, unfeeling commercial music. No magic there. Plus, I like the associations The Kiss Of The Spiderwoman, Spider Baby, ‘the tangled webs we weave.”

It’s no surprise that this primitive folk tale lends itself to the sounds brought forth on La Arana Es La Vida. “Psychic Future” opens the album with its fuzzy garage blues grooves and slides. “Coyote Conundrum” drips with psychedelic and surf influences in both the music and lyrics, while “Nine Blubber Mile”, one of a few instrumental tracks found on this album, treads along with its rumbly bassline and staticy guitar lines. “Karate Monkey” jumps and kicks with its Elvis Presley and ? And The Mysterians-like licks, while “La Arana” blends Chicano rock with elements of garage and soul. As Powers sings in an Andre Williams drawl, he tells a story about a spider that crawls all over the characters in the song at a party. This is portrayed in the lyrics and musically throughout the guitar and basslines. On “Anything To Say”, Powers sings a love song comparing fallen, broken dishes to spilling guts, as the guitars weave the words together with their sharp-shard-like riffs.

“Chicano Studies” is a surf instrumental track. The track features mischievous speaking , on top of the music, but the ending track sets itself apart from the rest of the songs found on La Arana Es La Vida. “Five Points/Howards End/Nasty Hat” begins with two segments conjuring up 50s rock n roll influences and ambient country/blues slides before “Nasty Hat” takes the listener into one more intense groove. Recorded at the Harveyville High School Gym in Kansas, La Arana Es La Vida contains a rambunctious youthful atmosphere. La Arana Es La Vida oozes with a primal rock n’ roll aesthetic, as lyrically it creeps and crawls with reverb laden lyrics drawing on tales of Mexican folklore.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Mission Of Burma - Tremelo
2. Sonic Youth - Wolf
3. Vallens - Karen
4. Hot Hot Heat - Sad Sad Situation
5. Heaven For Real - Kill Your Memory
6. Suicide - Ghost Rider
7. Suicide - Mr. Ray
8. Allen Vega - Kung Foo Cowboy
10. Suicide -Jukebox Baby 96
11. Allen Vega - Ghost Rider
12. Nickel Eye - Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye
13. Beck - Suzanne
14. Nick Cave - I’m Your Man
15. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Avalanche
16. Leonard Cohen - Jazz Police
17. Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire
18. Weird Lines - There Are Never Too Many Matches
19. The Replacements - 20th Century Boy
20. Luau Or Die - Mojave Chaser
21. Atomic 7 - That Leftover Savior Faire
22. The Black Lips - Leroy Faster
23. The Cramps - Don't Eat Stuff Off The Sidewalk
24. The Gun Club - Eternity Is Here
25. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Chicano Studies
26. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - La Arana

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for July 23.