A vs. Monkey Kongby A

A vs. Monkey Kong is the second album by A, and in sound and execution it takes up where their debut How Ace are Buildings leaves off. It`s got the same monster hooks and addictive pop/punk riffs and Jason Perry is still worth the price of admission and on this album perhaps even more versatile and comfortable with different styles. In fact just listen to Jason's Addiction and what is intended to be reference to Jane's Addiction and Perry Farrell, actually ends up sounding a bit like Jon Anderson from Yes, but it works, and its' a testament to Perry's strength as a vocalist.

A also sound much more comfortable on this album in that they've learned what works for them and they execute willingly. Though there are still those touches and flourishes of instrumentation that might be considered out of the realm of their genre, there are not quite as many as before, which could be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the songs they crafted for this album. In essence it's one of the reasons A vs. the Monkey Kong.

There are plenty of highlights on this album: The trumpet playing on the aforementioned "Jason's Addiction", the young person bad attitude parody of "Old Folks" and the storybook travelogue of "I Love Lake Tahoe". A vs. the Monkey Kong is another winning album from A, and one more document to make any fan wish they would record new music.