As soon as the opening track of
Electric Children
begins you realize that
the Monkeywrench
have gotten much tighter since their debut eight years before. The production also seems more raw, possibly due to the fact that the band has moved from
Conrad Uno
to veteran Seattle producer
Jack Endino
, who also engineered the first releases from bassist
Steve Turner
and vocalist
Mark Arm
's other band,
Mudhoney
. Also contributing to the rawness of the record is the absence of
Arm
's trademark piano and organ. This enhances the energy, causing you to notice a more frantic, electrified side of the band. As on the debut album,
Clean as a Broke-Dick Dog
, several genres of music are given equal time, including the
country
of
"Thirteen Nights"
and
"The Empty Place,"
the
rockabilly
"The Weasel's in the Barn,"
the Eastern modal quality of
"Around Again,"
and the
noise rock
of the closing number,
"In the Days of the Five."
The Monkeywrench
have grown in their ability to craft a song, and the result is a masterpiece. ~ Stephen Howell