Secret Monkey Weekend
Lemon Drop Hammer
Secret Monkey Records
Secret Monkey weekend are a family band from North Carolina. The band consists of guitarist/vocalist Jefferson Hart and his stepdaughters Ella (bass/vocals) and Lila Brown-Hart (drums/vocals). Think of the Cowsills without the family drama. There is even an Emmy-winning short film about the bandwhere they are shown playing small venues to even smaller crowds, but they play for the joy of making music together, not the crowds.
“So Much Joy” is the name of the first single off their sophomore album, Lemon Drop Hammer, and it sets the mood for the album. Lila sings “So much joy, I don’t know how to feel it / So much love, I just can’t conceal it / But the love I found makes me feel like I belong.” The whole album is like musical prozac, which is just what the doctor ordered for these trying times.
“We Can Be Friends” is a cute tune about… friendship. Lila sings, “I like ponies, dolls and shoes / You like bugs and kittens too.” It’s simple things that bring people together. Speaking of kittens, there are two songs about cats on Lemon Drop Hammer. “Merida” talks about a kitten, “Warm and furry, sweet as curry / Curled up in a ball… / Making biscuits on the blanket / Queen of North America.” While “Mimi” celebrates another cat, “Kittens of Instagram got nothin’ on you, dear / My beautiful Calico with irresistible velvety ears / Dark chocolate and caramel, and patches of creamy white/ Curled up with your paws over your eyes to get you through the night.”
Secret Monkey Weekend have an engaging pop sound, which brings to mind Carolina bands from the ’80s, like Let’s Active and The dB’s. Helping flesh out that sound is producer Don Dixon (who was behind the boards for the first two R.E.M. records). Also helping out in the studio are Peter Holsapple from The dB’s and Brian Yamamoto. A pleasant surprise is a fun version of “Na Nanana,” originally by the Athens band Squalls. Squalls were one of my favorite bands from Athens in the ’90s. They never gained that big of a national following, so I’m happy to see them remembered in such a cool way.
