the ape, the mic stand and a musty closet

Listening to Sydney indie electro-pop band the Great Apes is as much about their live performance as it is their music.

It's David Charles Lomas on the mic and Steve Allison on drums. That's it. Well, in reality it's Steve bashing around a trashy "my very first" kit and Charles dancing in his undies while dry-humping the mic stand.

They released a self-titled EP and the Addicted to Music single through Asocial Records last year.

The EP's colour insert has a pretty little piccie of Charles wearing only a shirt and underwear, looking totally off his nut, with Steve drumming in the background with the cheesiest grin since Jack Nicholson's rendition of the Joker.

Since then they've gone on to perform at seedy venues all over town to small, intimate crowds. It's probably the best setup they can have - a large venue means the performance could lose some of its power and Charles' penis, as it grinds all over the equipment, would look much smaller and less ferret-in-a-sock-like.

They've achieved a reasonable amount of success over the past 12 months. Their Lego-tastic video for Tell Me That I'm Good was featured on Canada's music show Much Music and they also won the 2008 FBi Radio Newtown Festival band competition.

This track turned me onto these guys (not sexually):

Great Apes - I Want You Bad

If you like their music you should buy it. You practically won't find any of it to d/l on the interwebz.