The Beat Surrender

Fight Like Apes are a four-piece from Dublin and with one, three minute punk pop song they are my favourite new band to have emerged in the last twelve months or so, that may not seem like a huge accolade but trust me it is, I hear a lot of new music and nobody has quite caught my attention like these guys and girl have.

The single that did it was the fiery Lend Me Your Face, one of the few to have scored the maximum fiove out of five in this magazine for a single review. While they are a great band together, the frontwoman May Kay is the vixen like figure that draws you in.

I caught up with Tom Flape recently, fresh off their tour with We Are Scientists to find out how that had gone and couldn’t resist asking him who would win a fight with an ape…c’mon it was begging to be asked!

How does it feel to be in the best band in Ireland at the moment?

That’s a very interesting question. In general, we have no idea. We only get the odd day off and that’s spent in bed or watching something amazing on the gogglebox. There’s no real time to think about success or failure.

How is the scene in Dublin at the moment?

Broken. There seems to be fewer bands around at the moment, but thank God the standard is higher than 4 or 5 years ago. Singer songwriters have gone away, except for that weird lad, Paddy Casey. He’s a great laugh.

There always seems to be a big passion for music in the city looking in from the outside, but not many bands make an impression over here, why do you think that is?

There seems to be one dominating reason, it takes a long time to fill small venues in Ireland and develop a following. When a band takes the next step and moves towards the UK, they realize how big the country is and maybe feel overwhelmed. There’s a passion in every city!

Are there any other bands that we should be aware of that we probably haven’t heard anything by yet?

Grand Pocket Orchestra! Giveamanakick! Le Galaxie! New Amusement!

You’ve just been on tour with We Are Scientists, how has that been and how did it come about?

That was a lot of fun. Every crowd every night was very receptive. How did we get it? Magic.

You’ve just released a new single Lend Me Your Face (which became one of less than a handful to get full marks on our site this year) while I have my own interpretation of what it’s about, what were you thinking when you wrote it?

Pockets was deep in thought about a previous squeeze of his. The lyrics kinda explain what exactly he wanted to do about her. Or to her.

The single has wetted the appetite now, so when can we expect an album from you?

After September 2008. We’ll see…

I was hoping (it’s since been cancelled) to come along and see you play at York in August, what could I expect from your live show?

Something broke; and some blood, and friendly smiles.

And finally…a stupid ape related question to finish with…if you had to fight an ape which one of you would have the best chance of winning and why?

Pockets. His other nickname is Hammer; but of course. Though, maybe MayKay. She’s strong as an ox and twice as brazen.

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