The Mooney Suzuki Electric Sweat label: Sony released: 03.11.03 our score: 4.0 out of 5.0

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So the other night I was watching some program or another in Fox's Sunday night lineup (most likely Oliver Beene - trust me, I only watch it because it's between The Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle). Anyway, I'm watching this show and the commercials come on, and it's this unbelievably lame commercial for Coors beer with some guys at a rock show and one of the guys is dancing like an idiot. The commercial was horrid, but what was interesting was the fact that The Mooney Suzuki were the band onstage.

Now, say what you will about bands offering their music and image for commercial use, but I for one was a bit disappointed. Here we have one of the most promising "garage rock revival" bands promoting what is arguably one of the worst macro-brew beers available.

Anyway, there's a point to this story, however horrible this lead-in may be. And the point is, don't judge The Mooney Suzuki by the beer they promote. Their debut album, Electric Sweat is an unbelievable work in that retro-rock sound that's been nearly beaten to death by Industry A&R over the past few years. Fortunately, these guys are about as close to the real deal as one can get.

Of course there are the obvious homages to MC5 and a bit of Television here, and if you're going to compare Electric Sweat to any of the other "more popular" 60's rock revival bands, The Strokes would be first to come to mind. But where The Strokes seem at times a bit more concerned about image, The Mooney Suzuki feel more attuned to their music. The opening of "Electric Sweat" digs right in with gritty, fairly nonsensical lyrics: "Get ready, Get set, What you get is electric sweat!"

Still, with the classic rock sound "Oh Sweet Susanna" and the Booker T-esque organ-infused rock dance of "It's Showtime, Pt. 2" it's evident The Mooney Suzuki have a bit more up their sleeve than so-called stylish rehash of other bands' past glories. Their sound, no matter how rooted in retro it may be, is entirely their own. And that's why it's entirely likely that once the kitsch of 60's garage rock blows over, they'll be one of the few left standing. At least we hope so.
14-Apr-2003 3:27 PM

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