Review Summary: Millencolin shows us they are one of the best punk rock bands around the "new school". Great guitar job, good basslines, solid drumming and the unique voice of frontman Nikola Sarcevic makes this album a must have for every punk rock fan.
Millencolin is a band that has been playing catchy punk rock since 1992. What's special about this guys? First, the come from Sweden. That's right, "the land of metal". Second, they combine ska, pop punk and, lately, rock in their music. The lineup consists of:
Nikola Sarcevic: vocals, bass
Erik Ohlsson: guitar, backing vocals
Mathias Färm: guitar, backing vocals
Fredrik Larzon: drums
For Monkeys is their 3rd album and it contains a bunch of fast punk, some ska and catchy pop punk. Let's go to the track-by-track.
1.- Puzzle
The opening track consists of a pop punk song telling us the "making off" of For Monkeys. Nikola tells us "inspiration has been hard this time" and the album has "less of ska and not so many fast ones". Good song with a catchy riff at the begging and clever lyrics. Cool drumming with some drumrolls during the song. A very good introduction to the album.
4/5
2.- Lozin' Must
With this song, seems that Puzzle was a lie. Great fast punk song which Nikola starts singing he is going crazy. Great chorus back up vocals and a cool bridge that leads to a guitar solo. One of the highest points of the album.
5/5
3.- Random I Am
Starts with a distortion guitar and Nikola singing and then turns in to a ska punk song! Cool guitars during the verses and a very good bassline. Again, good lyrics with a catchy heavy chorus. Another solid song.
5/5
4.- Boring Planet
This one's a fast punk rock song which stars with a very fun lead guitar. This song is about a guy that finds everything is boring around and nothing is shocking. The ending is great, with two lead guitars playing the strating riff, but one guitar wiht a higher tone.
4/5
5.- Monkey Boogie
Stars with a ska organ! Solid ska song about a guy in the "biz". A song that makes you want to dance. Great organ solo and drumming. And the clean ska guitar riff makes this song a very catchy one. Lyrics aren't as good as the other songs, but it's OK.
4/5
6.- Twenty Two
Probably the best song of the record, Twenty Two starts with clean guitars and a long drumroll. Then Nikola sings and blast the distortioned guitars and fast drumming. Very good lyrics, about a guy who is lost in life at the age of 22. Even has a great guitar solo leading to the bridge. Great job, Millencolin.
5/5
7.- Black Gold
Mid-paced pop punk song, wiht cool guitars and good drumming, again. Good bassline. Very good song, but too slow for Millencolin. Nikola sounds a little bored singing during the verses. Contains great drumrolls during the chorus.
4/5
8.- Trendy Winds
Starting with a heavy bass leading to a drumroll with distortion guitars. Then, guess what. Blasts out a very fast punk song. Good lyrics, about a kind of rebel who don't need anyone to tell him what to do. Cool bridge that leads to a guitar solo, following the "Millencolin formula" of bridge-solo or viceversa. And has awesome backing "ohh"s at the final chorus. Another superb song.
5/5
9.- Otis
Other pop punk song. The high point of this song are the vocals and the chorus. This is probably Nikola's best voice of the album. Guitars are very good this one, too. It has a great bridge, but lacks of something to be an outstanding song. Nevermind, it's a good one.
4/5
10.- Lights Out
The fastest song of the album talks about an angry guy that reminds his dark days. Standard punk drumming and guitars. This song has nothing special after all what we have heard before in this album, but Nikola's voice. He seems to angry singing, but fits very good in this song.
4/5
11.- Entrance At Rudebrock
Nice ska song about a guy looking forward good old days. A great follow after Lights Out. Nikola's voice is outstanding here. And The solo is pretty cool. Good bassline, as every ska song played by Millencolin. Awesome song.
5/5
12.- Lowlife
Millencolin closes For Monkeys with a very fast punk rock song. Starts with fast drumming and a lead guitar. Great bridge and ending. This song is an excellent closer to a very good album.
5/5
Recommended songs:
Twenty Two
Lozin' Must
Random I Am
Entrance At Rudebrook
To sum up, Millencolin puts out another solid record, and shows people that they can deal with fast punk rock as Bad Religion, catchy ska and pop punk. Great job by this swedish band.
