The Muffs –
Whoop Dee Doo (Cherry Red)
CD
21 July 2014
Pop/punk
trio release their first album for ten years.
For me, the Americans
never really ‘got’ punk. Despite being
the undoubtedly influence for it, they seemed to unwittingly hand over the
reins to the Brits for us to morph into something that was quintessentially our
own. Whilst they insisted on incorrectly
calling groups like Green Day and Sum 41 ‘punk’ they did become masters of the
hybrid – pop-punk. They just seem to do
it like no-one else and The Muffs are fine examples.
With this
their first album in ten years The Muffs cram twelve jam-packed, raucous
pop-punk tracks into an album which was clearly well worth the wait. One time Pixie, Kim Shattuck screams and
shouts to the point of making sore throats highly contagious over chunking
grungy guitars and drums which sound like their skins are splitting with every pound.
Yes, noise
is the order of the day. Not just any
old racket though. The Muffs have
created and assembled tracks which are of the highest quality and whilst they
are brimming with power and aggression, they also have infectious melodies
which are both memorable and distinctive.
It takes the
album less than one second to roar into being.
Opener, Weird Boy Next Door has you singing and humming to the melody
and Shattuck screeches amongst her fluid vocals and raw guitar sound. This is music that you want to hear being
played loud down at the beach in the soaring heat, or just at ‘volume 11’ in
your car. It just doesn’t get any
better.
With all
tracks averaging our around three minutes it’s a lesson in how to write
compelling pop the easy way – hook, melody, chorus, repeat as necessary. Take A Take A Me has handclaps, rockabilly drums
and yet another thread that won’t escape you. Cheezy throws in an early Beatles
harmonica riff, and only on closer Forever does the frenetic speed slow down
slightly with an early Blondie sound circa Plastic Letters.
It’s bold,
it’s brash and it’s a mighty fine album.
Whoop Dee Doo!
Links
No comments:
Post a Comment