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Mystery Girls: Self-Titled
The Mystery Girls play sloppy, rambunctious, blues-infused ok, Ill just say it, they play garage rock. This is only my second piece for Left Off The Dial, and apparently Ive already been pigeonholed as the garage rock guy. Which is ok with me; at least Ill always have something to review, as there are currently approximately 500,000 garage rock bands in the glorious U.S. of A, all driving up the price of shitty vintage equipment and littering the highways with cans of cheap domestic beer. The amazing thing is that for a musical style thats been around for approximately 40 years and attempted by every social reject who ever picked up a guitar, the garage rock aesthetic has remained remarkably stagnant. So the best way to measure a groups success is by how much they sound like theyre playing a Battle of the Bands or high school prom in 1965, while still somehow distinguishing themselves from the rest of the Mosrite-bangin, Bud-swillin anachronisms. The Mystery Girls meet both of these goals. Their songs are essentially frill-free but fun, keeping the guitar solos brief and focusing on tight and effective writing. These are not works of genius, but the Mystery Girls show a flair for melodic originality while maintaining the touch points of the genre (raw-throated vocals, pounding drums, fuzz guitar), and its obvious that care and effort went into assembling the songs. Most of the tracks feature wild harmonica, while several add carnival organ and surprisingly effective tambourine bashing. I should also give credit to the production, which has ideal amounts of volume and dirt. These touches give the songs a nice authentic 1960s touch, and are another indication that the Mystery Girls are simply working harder at what they do than most bands of this type. In a genre filled with half-assed You Really Got Me rip-offs, this effort makes them unique in a way that band uniforms or stage names never could. My main criticism is that they could stand to take more risks. While the Mystery Girls overdriven production and uninhibited playing are reminiscent of late 60s psychedelica, their songwriting is rooted in early 60s rhythm-and-blues. This works for them in most cases, but they could just use a little more eccentricity. The classic garage bands (like the 13th Floor Elevators, Love, the Seeds, etc.) are the ones that went just a little too far over the top and made you question their sanity; instead, the Mystery Girls go just far enough, and Im more likely to question their sobriety. My prescription: less narcotics, more hallucinogens.
This album can be purchased at Insound LEFT OFF THE DIAL's Mystery Girls page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
