New EP: The Cong || Do You Know What I Mean? & Other Hits

On my endless wandering through the Bandcamp jungle I came across The Cong this week, a mysterious rock ‘n’ roll trio – ‘Jungle Jim’, ‘Ursus’ and ‘Bubbles’ – with monkey masks, reportedly from North Korea, but we shouldn’t take that too seriously. They’ve just made four EPs available, with short but catchy tunes that are rooted in the 50s or 60s, but somehow sound too shiny to actually be that old. That required an explanation, which I received in detail from the spokesperson of the band. It turns out to be a brand new studio-only project, featuring musicians who have been playing in other bands for many years. Their output concerns “all newly recorded, original songs, but done with the intention of using modern technology to emulate a vintage sound as much as humanly possible” (basically what producers have always done, right?), “with typically more satirical lyrics.” In the five intriguing Beatlesque tracks on the Do You Know What I Mean? EP, I hear attractive vocal harmonies and nice ideas over an inspired rhythm section, which I can imagine will work well live on stage one day. The other Cong EPs are just as enjoyable.

Do You Know What I Mean? & Other Hits is out now digitally via Slimecore.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp (you’ll also find The Cong’s other releases there: Bamboo Babaloo, Forbidden Zone, and Pretty Please​/​Irene Miracle; a full-length album is in development.)