Such is the impact of Fight Like Apes on the Irish blogosphere that I run the risk of repeating already-noted ideas in this blog, but it is no exaggeration to say that the quartet are the most exciting, and potentially most important Irish band of the century so far.

There has been a disturbing pattern for emerging 21st century Irish indie music to follow the genres du jour of British indie. The NME may be in much smaller circulation in Dublin than its home in London, but its effect on the development of music in both cities runs paralel. The bands of that have been touted with any chance of making a name for themselves (or at least a few quid) outside of Ireland have all been achingly unoriginal- Delorentoes, Humanzi, Director, and their bedfellows. One of the more exciting bands have been the Chalets, but they failed to capitalize on the brilliance of their EPs with a memorable album. And now they can be found working in various retail outlets around town, and whatever hope of them breaking out we had has diminished. The Immediate were another band with a chance of building on early promise, but their premature demise has ended that hope

Enter the Apes.

What is significant about FLApes is their ability to write great indie-pop that does not correspond with British indie trends. There was nothing altogether terrible about, say Director’s Reconnect, or Humanzi’s Out On A Wire, but such was their derivativeness that after 6 months they have become wholly unmemorable. “Lend Me Your Face” promises to be spun on the decks of Dorans, Whelans and Crawdaddy for a long time to come. This is not to say FLApes are original. They simply put an Irish spin on a North American sound. MayKays Dublin colloquialisms pack all the wit of BellX1’s Paul Noonan (a sadly maligned lyricist due to the failings of his band in aforementioned originality stakes) and none of the accent of Damo Dempsey.  She and synth-madman Pockets (nee Jamie) have a talent few Irish artists are blessed with: stage presence. The band are uncompromisingly fun, without being novelty. For every dodgy EP title there is a song compelling and well-crafted as Battlestations.

Fight Like Apes are by no means the best Dublin band going; That would be an insult to acts such as Si Schroeder and Jape who are creating some of the most artistically commendable music of the moment. It is FLApes potential to finally garner some international praise coupled with success that makes them stand out. Whelans gig of Friday bygone was a testament to this. They have sold out Whelans within a year of releasing their first EP, filling it with devotees chanting every lyric along with MayKay. To draw parallels to another recent musical phenomenon, it is the sort of reaction reported from Arctic Monkeys’ earlier gigs. In this case the local support and hype was enough to propel the band across the country, and very quickly, internationally.

 Another interesting factor of the Whelan’s gig was the support act. Grand Pocket Orchestra were similar to FLApes in a very important stake- attitude. There was little in their sound that echoed the headline act, other than a more American-centric sound and simple hooks. It was their unpredictability, their obvious desire to actually have a laugh on stage, and their somewhat mental frontman that was most similar to FLApes. Here the begginnings of the best type of scene might be coming through- one based on attitude, not on sound. Who have Arctic Monkeys inspired to follow in their footsteps other than cheap knock-offs like Milburn and Bromhead’s Jacket? On the other hand, Broken Social Scene have launched diverse sounding bands from Stars to Metric, and Feist to Do Make Say Think who all sprung from the same scene, bound by the same collective attitude.

 So here’s hoping that we don’t see MayKay behind the counter of Tower records in two years time, and Tom teaching karate to underpriveleged children in his local community centre. Here’s to the future, and here’s to Fight Like Apes.

Daniel Gray From the moment he put the first Steps album into his stereo he knew he'd found his calling.
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