100 Monkeys: Liquid Zoo

Who said Americana, jazz, and funk couldn’t be fused together? For the Los Angeles-based 100 Monkeys, they toss all three into a blender and add a twist of Man Man-esque circus antics into the mix, and just in case that sounds like a little too much to handle … it is. For some, at least.

This quintet suffers the flaw of most psych-bands in their early years: an enormous amount of talent and ideas, but an extreme lack of focus. Singularly, every track on Liquid Zoo would grab the attention of Flaming Lips fanboys, but, as a whole, the album has no consistency other than its display of zany tempo changes and boisterous, fuzz guitar solos. That’s also the point of a band like 100 Monkeys, who two years ago improvised a full album right in the studio. Ultimately, with the courage to pull off a gimmick like that, some won’t give a shit how consistent their albums are.