Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds

Kid Congo Powers has a mighty colourful resume. The former guitarist of the Cramps, the Gun Club, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Die Haut, it's a pretty safe bet that his musical output (with a backing band called the Pink Monkeybirds, no less) would be a far cry from boring. Dracula Boots is an album of primarily instrumental garage/punk/surf/Tropicália, heavy on the organ noodling, tribal whooping and ominous-ness. Kid Congo can't actually sing but considering the kind of sound he's gunning for this isn't an impediment. A funked-up "Funky Fly" is an early highlight, with its pounding bass line at the forefront. Even the originals sound like covers; "Late Nite Scurry" contains shades of Lee Hazlewood and Link Wray. If you're ever tempted to throw a party in a Sultan's tent where all the guests will be smoking shisha and the entertainment includes wandering peacocks, chimpanzee waiters and a veiled harem of cage-dancing go-go girls, you can stop wondering which album would make the perfect soundtrack.