Yin Yang / Another Nite in Hell , Atomic Resolution - Resistant Harmony {Scotti}

                        One of Melbourne's most Awe-inspiring LIVE ballsed out Rock'n'Roll bands grace us with their first offering, being a 3 track C.D.ep. The title cut see's POWER, and good songwriting shining through, with that muchly missed snarly croak from good ol' T.Hemensley , this like pouring hot molten lava music into a block mould to make a stamped slab of pure gold bullion. There's so much going on with these three songs, catchy riffin' ,building, atsmosphere, it is all here for your ears, and certainly thumbs it up for me, with these five blokes really knowing what they're looking for and coming out with true guts Australian drenched small stuffy pub bulldozer ROCK'N'ROLL, and with bands of this calibre, along with Hoss, the affected ,Bored!,etc....we should realise their 1992 historical importance, and think that when they are no more, there will be people talking about them in a fandom context a handful of classic past Australian bands are viewed from, so witness history today, or dip out.....
                                       back
 
 
 

Smashed on a Knee - Inpress '93 - Steve Tauschke

                        Slack-Jaws , stand aside cause Melbourne's and for that matter Australia's dons of dirt-rock boogie Powder Monkeys finally arrives in long-playing digital glory, not that technology counts for much in the band's raw meat scheme of things. Recorded two years ago as a five-piece Smashed On A Knee enlivens the imagery of blood, bruises and crushed cartilage as it charts the expository lyrics of bassist  Tim Hemensley. During I Stand Bare, Hemensley coughs a vocal line about taking a walk with the king of chemistry and I think we know what he means. Meantime , the snaking voltage of John Nolan's guitar remains free-willed and particulary potent on Atomic Resolution and the earth-moving Persecution Blues.Coloured by some stomping harp, Smashed On A Knee leaves sweet guitar jangle and its ilk in the dust. This is the Album to kick your door in- without a warrant of course.
                                         back
 

Time Wounds All Heels - Rolling Stone{Aus} April '96 - Murray Engleheart

                         Recordings by Melbourne's Powder Monkeys are like prison tattoos and stories: the sort of stuff you wouldn't want anyone you cared for to live through. the music is all chipped knuckles and stitched up souls with an all consuming sense that blind revenge is the only thing in life that really makes any sense. It's grainy, black and white Cape Fear-punk. The band's last album, Smashed on a Knee , had the rhetoric right and for the most part the reach to back it up . But Time Wounds all Heels puts the Powder Monkeys on a level with the Eastern Dark, the Saints , Radio Birdman and precious few others.
                       The opening Tyson-like pummelling of " In The Doldrums" and "Insane Old Game" alone provides ample testimony of the Powder Monkeys power. Any correlation between the trio and Motorhead has more to do with paralleling bull-throated vocalist and bassist Tim Hemensley with Lemmy than anything else. There's no "Hoochie Coochie Man"  or Orgasmatron bravado here.
                        But that's not to say that there isn't a form of tradition at  work. There was a point in Rose Tattoo's career between the Assault and Battery and Scarred For Life albums when they  seemed to be dealing with something infinitely more lethal on every level than just badboy boogie. The Powder Monkeys are upholing that particular area of  Oz rock. And no-one is doing it quite like them. But that's  not really surprising. They are, after all, in the words of Hunter S Thompson, professionals.
                                           back
 

Get the Girl Straight  "7 - Punters Club Form Guide-Issue47 - 1997

                        Well I think most folks would know what to expect here, but for those who haven't had the pleasure... well the Powder Monkeys deliver pure unadulterated Detroit / Rose Tatts style rock'n roll. Being a live recording capturing the band at a particularly pissed off point this one rocks even more then usual. Even the lyrics rock more than usual {let alone the vocals}Rock'n Rock!!
                                                   back

Lost City Blues  C.D / L.P - the Age newspaper  18-2-01
                           4.5 out of 5-  reviewer - Patrick Donovan

                     The dirtiest, stinkiest, meanest balls-to-the-floorboards true rock'n'roll record of the millennium, it comes from Melbourne's favorite rock sons, but the fact it was recorded on tour in Stockholm in 1999 and is only available on import is a sign of the times. It includes studio versions of some of the band's best songs not previously committed to LP, such as Get the Girl Straight, Ain't No Stranger to Dirt , House Rules and Before I turn Sleazy. P.M fans will know what to expect : frenetic , groove laden ,bluesy rock, Tim Hemensly's desperate , inspirational heart-on-the- sleeve lyrics about reputations and paying your dues, and John Nolan's dazzling guitar work. But they stand out from other wild live rock bands because they write great songs. And you know they've lived what they preach. An essential addition to the collection of any serious fan of real rock music.
                                             back