Kid Congo x Pink Monkey Birds

In some sort of bizarre accident of timing, Kid Congo Powers has released his new disc – Dracula Boots – just a month or so after the passing of his former band mate and leader of the Cramps, Lux Interior. This new disc represents the first recording from the former drummer since 2006. And while he might best be known for plying the depths of low brow garage and fuzz psychedlia with the Cramps – or the Gun Club for that matter – Dracula Boots seems to traffic in a funk inspired brand of juju rock.

Playing guitar and grabbing the mic on the rare occasions that he sings across this roughly forty minute release, Kid Congo has surrounded himself with a few unknown musicians and a producer, who, for all intents and purposes, function as one of the funkiest rock bands outta the last decade. At points, some of this work even sounds as if it came off of a Dap Tone Records release.

Released on In the Red Records, the basis of this album is still stripped down rock music. But with Kid Congo at the helm a healthful does of reverb, tambourine and other assorted percussion add to the numerous instrumental tracks. Apparently, the disc was largely recorded in a high school gymnasium. And while that doesn’t really sound all too impressive, the effect is the make each track sound cavernous and each drum beat sound like five.

Easily, half of what’s here are instrumentals – and even if Kid Congo’s vocals end up sitting him next to a fireside, storytelling Tom Waits, the grooves the band reaches are what’s worth the cost of admission. “Bobo Boogie,” while a misnomer, seeing as it doesn’t ever approach boogie territory, is still a stomping, yet slow rock track created for the Kid to coax as many disparate noises outta his guitar with a slide as possible.

Again, though, the best moments invoke gritty, rock inflected funk groups from the late ‘60s or early ‘70s. And on “Black Santa,” the band raves up a pretty basic progression as the track is ornamented with just the right amount of auxiliary percussion. Subsequent to the band reaching the ever allusive groove here, the Kid reaches back into his bag of pedals and lands on one to somehow connect his guitar to some ungodly spaceship noises.

Even with that, nothing here approaches the territory on which the Cramps treaded. It is curious though that the source material for much of what’s present on Dracula Boots is roughly the same as with the Cramps. The simple instrumental thumpers all function under the most basic progressions. But perhaps all of this works because of these unknown players. Not to diminish Kid Congo, but it seems that the ambience created for this set of tunes is easily as important as what he brought to the table. Producer, Jason Ward, has credits with the Arcade Fire, The Gaza Stripers and Lambchop. While, none of those groups have too much to do with the proceedings here, if you mash ‘em all together, you can glimpse sort of alternate reality that the Pink Monkey Birds are able to create with the Kid.