Its been over two years since Apes recorded a full length album. In that time span Erick, Amanda and Jeff recruited Breck to join the apes ranks as a new vocalist, played some outstanding shows (the collective BYT staff will drop anything they’re doing to go wherever \Apes are) and wrote a batch full of “Ghost Games” songs that some have called a “less is more masterpiece”. No guitars (ever), primal beat lines, Amanda’s precise yet playful keyboards, Erick’s almost sinister bass line and Breck’s cut-through-glass vocals come together for a music experience both cerebral and visceral. And somehow goddamn addictive as well.

When people try to describe (just how cool) Apes (are) they inevitably fall into that almost fatally pretentious sounding art school talk (which I am 100% guilty of as well) including things like “avant-funk”, “rock-hued modernist befuddlement” and “protometal and psych to sci-fi-tinged new wave” but really, all you need to know is that:

1. Apes are DC’s (and beyond) premier music superhero band
2. They kick some serious butt
3. You should:
a. own this album
and
b. go to their show at the Cat this Friday.

Got that? OK.

In the meantime, we smuggled them (and their costume changes) into the Natural History Museum on a cloudy Sunday (passing security checkpoints has never been this much fun) and had Erick (and Breck) tell you all about HOW THEY WOULD DESCRIBE THE SONGS ON THIS ALBUM

The songs on Ghost Games are very much like segments to a movie or television show. Like the Twilight Zone, or Night Gallery: Using the world of the fantastic to tell stories of the struggles of everyday existence. The music is the ghosts’ attempt to contact the listener. The lyrics are meant to be left open to the listener’s interpretation. It is the combination of music, melody, and rhythm that creates the feeling of the songs. These are my personal interpretations of the song. Others in the band might have a different take. What you get out of the music is really all about context. If you hear one of these songs at a party — high, drunk and horny, eyeing a potential crush — then the song would take a different meaning for you. Shall we dissect?

Yes.please.

Practice Hiding:

BRECK:
This preparatory tale is a psalm of fear and invasion with refuge sought in a bunker until the coast is clear. Upon resurfacing to the
invaded grounds above, it is advised to hide in a phantom zone, one beyond the outsiders and the physical realm, a sub-reality in the mind.

Beat of the Double:

ERICK: I like to think of this song as one part “Invasion of the Body Snatcher”, one part an expedition trying to find a way back through darkness. Are your robotic neighbors human or pod people? Just ride the Metro during rush hour: Pod folks all around! In the end, does the human element break on through and find a way back home?

BRECK: This is take on Body Snatchers, the movie, where humans are duplicated and replaced by a more subservient being; with no memories, emotions, or individuality

Dr. Watcher:

ERICK: Do ghosts get sick of roaming the planet watching human events on a constant loop? Get sick of the inability to change anything, perhaps knowing the answers but unable to communicate them to the living world? Watching fads, people falling in and out of love, strife, life and death, and changing technology? A ghost can be compared to growing old.

BRECK: We are here now using what has been built and offered by those present and past. What remains after us are our collaged manipulations for future use.

Which Witch:

ERICK: I imagine that ghosts can’t stand witches. Like clowns hating mimes, witches are the Goth kid at the punk show. Witches are all style, no substance; look at the Wiccans: Horny nerds running around with bad taste. I believe the song can be interoperated as rescuing kids from captivity by a coven or a personal story of a wack relationship.

Walk thru Walls:

ERICK: In the future, when all material needs are met, will people focus their energy toward expanding their minds? Maybe there are those whose minds are so evolved that they have become invisible, totally free, yet unable to teach what they know. They must communicate to us through music or the radio. The ghost mind might be all knowing, but would they still miss the physical touch of a loved one?

Info Ghost:

ERICK: A cautionary message left on an answering machine from a friendly ghost. The spirit calls out: Watch out for the future life traps. The great struggle of the adult world is the once creative mind fighting a losing battle against rigidity and inflexibility. People creating their own life prisons. Following what they believe to be the natural thing to do. Thank goodness for Guitar Hero to free everyone.

want more:
Apes on myspace
Apes on gypsy eyes
Apes live this Friday (with Food for Animals and Kid Congo Powers)

credits:
photo: Joel Didriksen
styling: Morgan Hungerford + Apes
graphic design: Erik Loften
concept: Svetlana Legetic

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