SHREDnews

By: Poppy Cleere

WHO ARE THEY?

Fight Like Apes are an alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland. Formed back in 2006 the foursome, led by vocalist MayKay (Mary-Kate) Geraghty (Vocals/Synth), are known for their rather eccentric stage antics, including but not limited to stage dives, play fighting and Geraghty playing the keyboard with her head. Another of their recognizable traits is the use of long album and EP titles such as Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion which are used in order to wind up journalists. The band, completed by  Jamie “Pockets” Fox (Keys/Vocals), Tom Ryan (Bass) and Adrian Mullan (Drums), joined current label Model Citizen Records in 2008 and have played shows in the US, Europe, UK and Ireland.

WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW THEM

Their music sounds completely different to any other female-fronted act – which is a nice change from the suddenly emerging copycat bands – and not to mention it’s insatiably catchy! With their  very own genre, “Karate Rock” and their influences being “B-movies, computer games and kung-fu” it’s easy to see why their synth-infused rock packs a big old punch and why it has journalists all-a-flutter trying to work out what to make of it, in-fact the only thing they seem to be able to agree on is that FLA are like nothing you’ve seen before.

Their live shows are another cause for discussion. They’ve toured with the likes of top UK acts The Ting Tings, Prodigy and Kasabian as well as playing numerous festivals both in the UK and US.  Having seen them perform myself I can definitely give them a 10/10 for entertainment, although I wasn’t quite sure whether the audience members were more amused or scared. Geraghty and Fox in particular seemed to be the most animated; both at various points bashing their head on the keyboard, fighting one another by the barrier, playing a cow-bell rather viciously and generally looking a bit mental. BBC Radio One’s Steve Lamacq described his experience as “some kind of pop exorcism” whilst Alison Curtis of ‘Today FM’ compared Geraghty to music legend Debbie Harry (Blondie).

YOU’LL DIG THEM  IF

You’re a fan of similar indie rock acts – Los Campesinos! or Yeah Yeah Yeahs

TRACKS YOU SHOULD DOWNLOAD

Lend Me Your Face and Jake Summers (which includes the line – “you’re like Kentucky Fried Chicken but without the taste” – Fantastic!)

You can find out more about Fight Like Apes over at their website:

www.fightlikeapesmusic.com

www.myspace.com/fightlikeapesmusic