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- Verified Buyer
i love that a band that has been around as long as the ozrics is still evolving. waterfall cities started the band in a new direction with a less organic and more electronic sound. hidden step, spirals in hyperspace, and floor's too far away continued this trend with each of these three sounding more and more like an Ed solo project. yumyum tree, while good, was disappointing to me. it had more of a "band" vibe than the previous three, but after the promising start of magick valley it lacked gusto.then paper monkeys arrived on my doorstep.this is the album that i had hoped yumyum tree would be. it has a great "band" vibe, super-slick production (the best sounding ozrics release to date), and best of all - tons of energy. the opening track hits hard within the first second and never lets up. the songs settle down a bit after that, but continue strong for the next 6 tracks before mellowing out for the final 2. this album may be my favorite ozrics album so far (i'll need more time to be sure). the band hasn't lost sight of its roots and you can hear plenty that would fit in perfectly with pre-2000's ozrics, which is a relief as i have loved this band for so long for a reason - their sound is unique and amazing. yet while so many bands settle into a groove and never get out, the ozrics seem to keep evolving and paper monkeys is a big step in that evolution. the percussion and synths on this release really shine, and the tracks contain a level of sophistication and maturity that is beyond anything they have previously released. it's as if ed spent a month with simon posford and absorbed some of the technical wizardry that the shpongle mastermind possesses. the drums sound great, with oli apparently playing electronic drums instead of ed programming them, and brandi sounds better than ever on the bass. the more i listen the more i feel that this album has a certain "something" that no other ozrics album has - or rather, several "somethings": maturity, cohesiveness, brilliant composition, exceptional production, and lots and lots of creativity and energy. this is one release i'll be listening to happily for many years to come.those who seem to hate this release - they seem to all have something in common. erpland is continually mentioned as being the golden era of the ozrics. well, the erpland days are gone and not coming back. this band has been evolving and if you are willing to open your mind to the new direction they have taken, i think that you'll find there are many wonders to be found in this new release. also, it certainly pays to listen to this either with headphones, or very loudly on a high-quality stereo system. it makes a *huge* difference - this is music that rewards you for giving it your full attention. finally, the MP3 versions just don't do justice to this album. until FLAC becomes mainstream, buying the actual CD is the way to go for music like this.thank you to ed, brandi, silas, and oli for continuing to release innovative, exciting, wonderful music for so many years (decades!).
