The Wolfgang Press – Funky Little Demons

I found myself laughing right out loud when I first heard Funky Little Demons by The Wolfgang Press, who seem to have gotten both a tremendous amount of praise, and equal amount of criticism ... but then, if a band is experimental, that goes with the territory. Nevertheless, what slapped a mile wide smile across my face was that their vocal presentation, along with their musical endeavors, both harking back to a little known band from the 80’s called Shriekback, who pretty much laid down the same dark atmospheric danceable style, yet without the repetitive electronic backbeat, that tracks through nearly every song.

All of this is not to say that the album is not good, because it is, with one of the main reasons being the opening number “Going South,” which tightly draws the listener in. And there’s a reason for that, with the reason being that “Going South” is nearly a direct lift of The Velvet Underground’s “What Goes On.” But that’s fine, a bit of appreciation for the past goes a long way, though I do wish that they’d varied their sound a bit, because after the opening track, it all comes across as rather being much the same. Of course this leads me to suggest that if a band is going to lift bits and pieces from others, perhaps they should continue to do so as a style and concept, making the album more bright, more romantic, allowing the listener to connect dots and draw comparisons ... and of course The Wolfgang Press should give credit where credit is due, and embrace the fact that like Led Zeppelin lifting and reshaping the first chords of “Stairway To Heaven” from “Taurus” by Spirit, that there is strength in established cord progressions that can be used to one's advantage, making music that is fresh and new, yet standing smartly on the shoulders of what’s come before.

This is another of those albums where the songs sound better and stronger when they come up in rotation, rather than listening to the album as a whole, because after a few tracks I sincerely found myself longing for something else.

Review by Jenell Kesler