| Funky Little Demons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Length | 47:51[1] | |||
| Label | 4AD[2] | |||
| Producer | Drostan Madden | |||
| The Wolfgang Press chronology | ||||
| ||||
Funky Little Demons is the fifth and final studio album by the English band the Wolfgang Press, released in 1995.[3][4]
The album peaked at No. 75 on the UK Albums Chart.[5] The first single was "Going South".[6] The band supported the album by touring North America with Suddenly, Tammy![7][8]
Production
The album was produced by Drostan Madden. It was recorded in the band's own studio, although founding member Mark Cox was often not present for sessions.[9]
The band split the album between songs that were written in a standard verse-chorus manner, and those that were built out of musical soundscapes.[10] "11 Years" is an autobiographical song; "New Glass" is an instrumental track.[11][12]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| Calgary Herald | B−[14] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [15] |
| Knoxville News Sentinel | [11] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [16] |
| The Record |  [1] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [6] |
Trouser Press wrote: "No longer enigmatic risk-takers, the Wolfgang Press have become just another white post-new wave soul band."[17] The Guardian thought that the album "contains enough elements from pop's more melodic spectrum to lift them squarely out of their old art-terrorism mode."[18] The Calgary Herald deemed it "funky without tryin'," likening it to "Joy Division goes uptown."[14]
The Irish Times determined that Funky Little Demons "sees the Wolfies change from dark, brooding neo industrialists to bright, ironic soul popsters."[19] The Ottawa Citizen stated that "Going South" "is positively contagious, resonating with gravelly lead vocals, piercing slide work and soul-touching background singers."[20] The New York Times noted that Wolfgang Press "has been letting its pop float to the surface of its dirges, ending up with a stylized soul music that sounds like a chunkier version of Roxy Music."[21] Joyce Jones, of The Washington Post, listed the album among the 10 best of 1995, writing that Allen "exudes a cantankerous charm, coming off like Nick Cave on Soul Train."[22]
AllMusic wrote that "the album is neither particularly funky nor at all demonic, and in these tamer surroundings, Michael Allen's formerly compelling baritone murmur sounds kind of mannered and pretentious."[13]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Going South" | |
| 2. | "11 Years" | |
| 3. | "Blood Satisfaction" | |
| 4. | "Chains" | |
| 5. | "Christianity" | |
| 6. | "Derek the Confessor" | |
| 7. | "So Long Dead" | |
| 8. | "Executioner" | |
| 9. | "She's So Soft" | |
| 10. | "New Glass" | |
| 11. | "Fallen Not Broken" | |
| 12. | "People Say" |
References
- ^ a b Jaeger, Barbara (March 5, 1995). "Perfect Picks, One and All". The Record. p. E4.
- ^ Jarman, David (Jan 1995). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 17. p. 12.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (April 10, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050.
- ^ Manning, Sarra (Jan 21, 1995). "Albums — Funky Little Demons by the Wolfgang Press". Melody Maker. Vol. 72, no. 3. p. 32.
- ^ "Wolfgang Press Full Official Chart History". Official Charts.
- ^ a b Johnson, Rommie (February 10, 1995). "The Wolfgang Press, Funky Little Demons". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
- ^ Dickinson, Chris (19 May 1995). "Wolfgang Press, Suddenly Tammy!, Sunday at Metro". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. T.
- ^ Sherr, Sara (19 May 1995). "Wolfgang Press/Peter Himmelman". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 17.
- ^ Punter, Jennie (15 May 1995). "U.K. band switches dynamic". Toronto Star. p. E5.
- ^ Darling, Cary (April 28, 1995). "A dour Press sees the light". Orange County Register. p. P49.
- ^ a b Campbell, Chuck (10 Feb 1995). "British group presses ahead with 'Demons'". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 3.
- ^ Morgan, Kendall (February 19, 1995). "The Wolfgang Press Funky Little Demons". The Dallas Morning News. p. 8C.
- ^ a b "Funky Little Demons". AllMusic.
- ^ a b McEwen, Mary-Lynn (29 Jan 1995). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. E2.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 749.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. pp. 1241–1242.
- ^ "Wolfgang Press". Trouser Press. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ Chiswick, Linton (11 Jan 1995). "Pop: The Wolfgang Press Jazz Cafe". The Guardian Foreign Page. The Guardian. p. 11.
- ^ Courtney, Kevin (20 Jan 1995). "The Wolfgang Press: 'Funky Little Demons'". Sound & Vision. The Irish Times. p. 13.
- ^ Saxberg, Lynn (21 Jan 1995). "The Wolfgang Press Funky Little Demons". Ottawa Citizen. p. D3.
- ^ Strauss, Neil (22 May 1995). "Rock on a Spring Evening to Please All the Pessimists". The New York Times. p. C13.
- ^ Jones, Joyce (29 Dec 1995). "Best of '95". The Washington Post. p. N7.
This page was last edited on 15 May 2024, at 07:38