Psychotronic Roller Boogie Disco Queen Sock It to Me

Album Review

On the New York City rock scene, bands come and go. If you catch several local bands at a Lower Manhattan club on a Friday or Saturday night, chances are that most of them won't be around five or ten years from now. But Sea Monster has turned out to be one of the Big Apple's more durable bands; when they finished recording Psychotronic Roller Boogie Disco Queen Sock It to Me in 2000, Sea Monster had been together 15 years — and in 2004, they were a year away from their 20th anniversary. It isn't difficult to understand why the Long Island rockers have commanded such an enthusiastic cult following in and around N.Y.C. all these years; lead singer Arthur Stevenson and his colleagues are great at what they do, and this CD is a fine example of their gritty, beer-drenched, hell-raising approach (which is best described as hard rock with rockabilly, punk, and blues leanings). Sea Monster is primarily a party band — if a biker gathering needed a soundtrack, rowdy offerings like "Gimme a Beer" and "Shake" would fit right in. And in fact, Sea Monster has played their share of biker events over the years. But Stevenson, for all his in-your-face aggression, also has moments of thoughtful sensitivity. His performance on "Clark Was a Fireman" is downright poignant, and he is equally earnest on a cover of Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" (which was a number one country hit for the late Johnny Cash in 1970). Outside of the New York area, Sea Monster aren't nearly as well known as they deserve to be — and for those who haven't experienced their hell-raising pleasures, Psychotronic Roller Boogie Disco Queen Sock It to Me would be a highly rewarding introduction.