I like these guys, even if they’re not the Strokes. Actually, I like them better because they’re not the Strokes. Once again, America is proving to me that they’re getting stupider and stupider everyday by saying the Strokes are a good rock band who lead the rock ‘revival’ of recent years. I’ve read 2 reviews of this album, one was glowing and the other was horrible. That ‘critic’ criticized the lyrics and ‘generic’ style of the music and on top of that, compared the Mooney Suzuki to the Strokes. What a slap in the face to the Mooney Suzuki. Critics know nothing. The Strokes just ripped off Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life album and they’re Gods for that??? As far as I’m concerned, they got away with theft. Try harder next time. Disgusting, America – you’re shitty taste offends me.
This album actually comes with a poster! It’s kind of small, it’s only the cover of the album, but it’s a poster! Most albums say they have a free poster inside, but it’s usually only the booklet for the CD, which I won’t hang up because it’s apart of the album!
The music on this album is typical of a Mooney Suzuki album. I’m not going to criticize the lyrics because as a fan of the band, their lyrics haven’t changed from album to album and you should realize with a band like this that lyrics take a back seat to the music. The music is a bit less garage like as the last 3 releases, but still in that same rock vein. The Matrix produced this album. For those of you who don’t know who they are, like me I had to look them up, here is a quote from MTV.com:
The ultra-pop songwriting team, which has landed radio hits for Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff and others, wanted to stretch its wings and work with a real, down and dirty rock and roll band. So the Mooney Suzuki reluctantly agreed to fly to Los Angeles and test the waters by spending three days writing songs with the Matrix.
So, after hearing that, it makes me want to puke. However, this album stays true to what the Mooney Suzuki’s vision of being like the Who or Led Zeppelin. It expands their sound while staying rock. The album runs through sounds that might be heard on a Who or Hendrix album and at the same time a few of these songs could have been on “People Get Ready” or “Electric Sweat.”
The title track, however, is a bit different for the band, yet catchy enough for me to hum all day long. “Shake That Bush Again” is a perfect fit into the live show as it is energetic and gets the index fingers pointing to the sky! I saw the Mooney Suzuki live at the beginning of July and that song stayed in my head until the album came out on the 24th of August. That alone should be a testament to the catchy songwriting of this band. After the acoustic tribute to “Naked Lady,” be sure to fast forward about 2 minutes and take a ride on the “Love Bus,” which could actually be a radio hit for this band, although it is a secret track and maybe that is the reason why.
If you like the Mooney Suzuki and are the kind of fan who likes their bands to expand in sound and style, then you’ll dig this album. If you’re a casual fan, you may want to stick with the more garage style Mooney Suzuki. If you like to take a chance and expand your own taste, give this one a listen. It’s definitely cheap enough to take a chance with. After 4 or 5 listens of this album, I can already say that it will be on my play lists for a long time to come.
