ALBUM REVIEW: DESTROY SHE SAID – MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

ALBUM REVIEW: DESTROY SHE SAID – MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO
Hellfire Records
2026
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
93%

This one’s been a very long time coming: originally recorded around 2021 as the band imploded and shelved until now, Destroy She Said’s final release is an exercise in rock n’ roll thuggery – a huge sounding record which expands on the band’s earlier sound and takes it into rather epic new realms.

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If DSS’s debut was largely rooted in Bon Scott-era AC/DC, here there’s less boogie and more depth; less straight forward head shaking pub rock and more BIG rootsy riffs.

The rhythm section of drummer Nicco Hunt and bassist Bo Remy are propulsive, while Gary ‘Youngy’ Young’s rhythm guitar underpins everything with a surly insistence and shoulders the listener out of the way, allowing Dave Walker to rip out some hyper-targeted psych rock solos, and Simon McCullough’s whiskey and petrol growl to shine.

Highlights?? How about the whole album!! But I’ll make special mention of Better Than You’s psych rock foundation; You Only Looked Good When I Was On Drugs for its hilarious peak-DSS lyric; the ferocious fretwork of Ice Age; Whipping Boy’s Powerage-flavoured groove and grind; and – unexpectedly – the title track for their debut album Down To Dirty, which didn’t make the cut at that time. It’s a sleazy dirge that builds towards a blazing crescendo.

If there’s a down side, it’s that three tracks from these sessions – including Demon Seed, which featured Angels, Skyhooks & Rose Tattoo master guitarist Bob Spencer on slide – were axed due to technical problems. C’est la vie, unfortunately.

It’s a case of better late than never for Monkey See, Monkey Do – with Destroy She Said over and done, we can only guess at what they might have carried on to do, but in album #2 they’ve ended on an undeniable and essential high.

 

Category: CD Reviews