Another Evolution

Album Review

In many cases, artists who tell you that their music is "beyond category" are guilty of wishful thinking — their music can, in fact, be categorized, and isn't as unique as they would have us believe. Amazingly, some of the most unoriginal musicians really do believe that their work is totally groundbreaking. But in the case of DJ Monkey — an unorthodox, Los Angeles-based group that includes veteran songwriter Joey Alkes and one-time Earl Slick associate Mick McMains—categorization really is extremely difficult. Another Evolution, DJ Monkey's debut album, is a risk-taking blend of alternative rock, spoken word, hip-hop (especially alternative rap à la De La Soul and Digable Planets), funk and jazz, and they pull it off impressively well. Other groups that have dared to be this ambitious have missed their mark and delivered albums that were wildly uneven; for all their good intentions, things simply didn't work out. Another Evolution, however, is as focused and coherent as it is ambitious — and unlike other experimental, genre-busting artists, Alkes and his colleagues are never abstract just for the sake of being abstract. Actually, this CD is quite accessible — adventurous and unpredictable, but still accessible. Lyrically, DJ Monkey can be fun and humorous — "Beatnik" is an infectious example of the group's humorous side — or they can have some socio-political bite. "Big Oil," for example, points the finger at the oil industry while lamenting the lack of adequate public transportation in L.A. (a city where, unlike New York or Chicago, most people need to drive most of the time). And "Jerusalem" is a poignant call for peace in Israel. Many risks are taken on Another Evolution, and all of them pay off for the eclectic DJ Monkey.