- Music
- 27 Jan 04
They may be three-part American to one part Irish, but Saucy Monky have made Ireland a priority over the past 12 months – and 2004 should see them reaping the benefits.
Their debut (mini) album Celebrity Trash , released last year, was a superb calling card and the band’s three singles picked up an increasing amount of radio play, with the gorgeous ‘Flicker’ featuring in a number of end-of-year Irish radio charts and the gloriously infectious ‘Don’t Wanna Know Your Name’ being picked up by hotpress for its ongoing TV campaign.
The immediacy of their appeal to programmers is obvious: Saucy Monky’s songs have an indie heart, but one that’s fired with a delicious made-for-radio pop sensibility.
Songwriting duties are shared by Annmarie Cullen from Dublin and Cynthia Catania from New Jersey – there’s a rare balance to the combination of their talents, ensuring that the Saucy palette offers range as well as depth. Add in sensual vocals, soaring harmonies and fine musicianship and it’s clear that the band have got it all – and more besides.
Live, they’re hugely impressive, achieving Prince-like moments of pure musical immersion that are the hallmark of the real thing. But Cynthia and Annmarie also communicate a warmth and sense of humour – playfully slagging each other to great effect – which adds hugely to the experience of a Saucy event. And, as if all of that wasn’t enough, between the two of them, the girls have enough sex appeal to power the QE2 through an entire world cruise.
With three Irish tours under their belt, 2004 will see them carry the campaign into other European territories. ‘Disco Ball’ is being released as a single in the not too distant future, and may be the one to bring them chart recognition. In the meantime, recording of their follow-up album is already underway and they also plan to hit the festival trail in the summer. With any kind of a fair wind, they could turn out to be among the highlights. Watch this space…
Listen to "Don't Wanna Know Your Name"
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