"Monkey News" by Zaruna

Here we are again: another week, another single from Zaruna: "Monkey News" coming out seventeen days after "Indigo": a relative slowing down one might say but certainly not in absolute terms.

To some extent operating in the same territory as Elvis Costello's 2004 "Monkey To Man" in that some aspects (shall we say the upper surface) make wry observations about just how far our species have actually evolved given certain behaviours. On the other hand they've packed other thoughts neatly into the song too, posing questions about religion and free will and the couplet "I never knew that you weren't dead/You never could say what you wanted to say" hints enigmatically at the whole rest of the song being aimed at a single being: suggesting their actions may have given rise to the pondering in the first place.

A sense of enigma and elusive lyrics like this add value to songs & make you want to figure them out: which is just what I like.

Just as the words are thoughtful & reflective, so is the music: a rather gorgeous groove which invites you into the track to consider what Zaruna are saying. If this is the first Zaruna track you have encountered, then I think it will convert you to the cause by itself. From my perspective as a serial reviewer of their music, it's yet another example of the eclectic tastes & talents.

If they are thinking of compiling this great run of singles into an album, the quality & diversity are going to be incredibly impressive: I don't envy them the task of sequencing though…..