Artist Spotlight: Rambos

If there's one thing worth appreciating about a band like Rambos, it's their refusal to take themselves as a band - or anything at all - too seriously.  Considering the fact that the group's Facebook page "likes" include everything from Tom Waits and Stiff Little Fingers to The Daily Show and pseudo-news network The Onion, it becomes readily apparent that the Chicago-based quintet have their heads caught somewhere between bourbon-soaked ballads, classic punk jams, and the comical, self-absorbed tendencies of the human race.  Rock and Roll Monsters is a testament to all three of these things - tracks like 'Hiawatha' and 'Chuck Taylors' are as quick to critique humanity as they are to laugh at it, doing so with the airy and youthful disposition of a group of kids that are, if nothing else, enjoying the hell out of their time here.  Each song reverberates with the openness of an old abandoned foyer, lending an abundantly retro feel to the record, almost as if it was intentionally recorded a generation too late.  For Rambos, the time to shout it out loud is right now; Rock and Roll Monsters embodies this explosive attitude and delivers the funk-tinged, punk-fueled tracks to back it.

Hear tracks from Rock and Roll Monsters on Rambos' Facebook, or head over to their official website for more about the band and their new album.