Finally I can shed more light on this bunch…

This is the fourth album from this slightly unhinged trio, who (having witnessed them live recently) are possessed with boundless energy, have played with more legends than you can shake a stick at (Nik Turner, Status Quo, Groundhogs, Half Man Half Biscuit), and are possibly Britain’s finest unsung rock band.

Recorded at Dave Anderson’s (Amon Duul 2) Foel Studio, “Go Ape!” kicks off with white noise synth and stereo theremins and a B‑movie voiceover into “Hubcaps Over Hollywood”, a piledriving boogie all about the films of Ed Wood. We’re off to a good start. “Out Of My Tiny Mind” is AC/DC meets Quo, but in good way. “Willow World” is power-pop deluxe, possibly about Japanese customs, with a Sex Pistols guitar part and harmony vocals which suggest an intimate familiarity with the last couple of Sparks albums. 

“Love, Money And Noise” does the DC/Quo thing. “Alien Baby” is a slice of rockabilly (!) about dating aliens, in which the very “Silver Machine” synth rears its head again. “First Across The Line” is manna from heaven for all those Quo fans who gave up in 1976 — it utilises EVERY classic Quo trick in the book, with a lyric about… Italian cyclists. Jesus.

“Then I Saw You” steps into Nick Lowe/Elvis Costello territory, while “Eddie And Gene” is a near perfect homage to the titular icons. Then we have “Monster Beat”… a pounding drum intro, a guitar part using the legendary devil’s interval, and a lyric about every classic B+W monster you ever did see. Worth the price of admission on its own.

These guys must have a thing about horror films, as next up is “For Bela”. I assume they mean Lugosi, as it starts and ends rather cheekily with a snatch of “Swan Lake”, the theme from the original “Dracula”. Either way, it’s a lovely instrumental, with guitarist Charlie Davidson showing that whatever Andy Latimer or Manuel Gottsching (in Ashra) can do, he can do just as well. The next track is a pop song, which we’ll gloss over.

“Drink The Place Dry” follows, which is riotous live, but doesn’t capture the energy on CD. It’s a drum-based slighty Celtic-sounding chantalong. Track 13, “Poison Letter From Loretta”, stands slightly apart from the rest of the album is it has a looser, garage band type of feel. “Wedding Bells” is the Quo boogie again, this time with immaculate harmony vocals (one of this band’s strong points) and a “Slow Train”-esque jigs and reels bit. “Same Old Same Old” lays down a HEAVY funk beat and is possibly the best song ZZ Top never recorded.

“Missing Link” cools things down with a stylish bit of blues dedicated to the late Godfather of rock guitar before “Let’s Roll!” winds things up in frantic style, like a kind of rock’n’roll Ramones (“1–2‑3–4!” included) with some WILD slide guitar parts. 

As an album, it’s hardly Earth-shattering, but it’s hugely enjoyable and the band’s penchant for the occasional arcane lyric never fails to delight and surprise. There is also a wide variety of styles encompassed but it always sounds uniquely like The Jalapenos. 

The album cover is very cheeky, too — a Jalapeno pepper peeled back to reveal a banana. It’s either a Velvets reference, or possibly The Rutles. Or both. Any band who dress up in monkey suits onstage for a photo shoot has to be applauded. 

I hope to acquire their 3rd album “Loquisimo!” soon.