The Muggs

(Times Beach)
by Brian Varney

Hailing from Detroit Rock City and sounding every inch of it, The Muggs‘ boogie-rock worship spits power chords like the front row at a Guided by Voices show spits beer. Frontman Danny Methric looks like a less-photogenic Mitch Hedberg, but that’s cool: ’70s rock was at least partially about proving that ugly guys could get laid solely through the power of rock.

And as long as we’re talking about allegiances to the ’70s, we might as well talk about the album. Classic rock revivalism is a pretty hackneyed genre, especially in the wake of stoner rock, but I’m still a sucker for the good stuff. There’s nothing quite like a boogie riff, a 4/4 beat, and a shouted vocal about something stupid to get me fired up. When this record is at its best, it’s just that sort of thing. The album is pretty inconsistent, but the first three tracks deliver a potent knockout combo. Musically, it’s equal parts AC/DC and Foghat, with raspy, slightly snotty vocals heavy on important words like “baby,” and I just can’t get enough.

Things do get a little dodgy later, especially when the band attempts slower tracks, and even a spacy “Third Stone from the Sun” type of thing with “Underway.” Hopefully, such missteps are merely the signs of a young band trying to find themselves. If the band finds itself in the vicinity of tunes like this album’s leadoff, “Need Ya Baby,” they’ll also find me in the audience.
(www.timesbeachrecords.com)