diso2_1000x50

Muck and the Mires

Dorren EP | Dirty Water
By BRETT MILANO  |  April 15, 2008
DoreenAnimatedGifinside
If Phil Spector could produce the Ramones, then Kim Fowley can produce Muck and the Mires, local faves whose sound has always been two parts Ramones to five parts British Invasion. On their three previous CDs, Muck seemed incapable of getting a studio sound that approached their live one; the tracks sounded like clean demos and their devastating live volume wasn’t even hinted at. Enter Fowley, the legendary LA eccentric who wrote “Alley Oop” in the early ’60s, discovered the Runaways a decade later, and currently DJ’s on Little Steven’s Sirius channel. Part of his contribution appears to have been creating a manic vibe in the studio. Lead singer Evan Shore sounds grittier than ever before; the band sound far less polite. And this four-track EP (a teaser for an eventual album) is still plenty Beatlesque, but now they’re the scruffy Hamburg Beatles instead of the cleaned-up ones. The title track has long been one of their best live numbers, but the standout is “Hypnotic,” which Shore seems to have written after Fowley told him his existing songs weren’t stupid enough. It fills the bill, with a wonderfully silly whammy-bar bit that introduces each chorus. And Fowley throws in enough handclaps and surf guitar to evoke one of those mythical Sunset Strip parties.

Muck and the Mires | Middle East upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge | April 18 | 617.864.EAST
Related: Worst in breed: Music, The band time forgot, Review: The Runaways, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music,  More more >
| More

Most Popular
Blogs
 More: Phlog  |  Music  |  Film  |  Books  |  Politics  |  Media  |  Election '08  |  Free Speech  |  All Blogs
ARTICLES BY BRETT MILANO
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   WALTER SICKERT LEADS A BAND OF MUSICAL MISFITS  |  February 05, 2011
    When Walter Sickert and his Army of Broken Toys played an official First Night show at the Hynes Auditorium on New Year's Eve, they ran overtime and the soundman pulled the plug — which isn't quite the smartest way of shutting down an acoustic band.
  •   GUIDED BY VOICES RETURN WITH SELF-INFLICTED NOSTALGIA  |  November 07, 2010
    When Guided by Voices announced their reunion tour this year, it marked a milestone of sorts for the Dayton band. This is arguably the first conventional career move they've ever made.
  •   DANDO AND HATFIELD REKINDLE A MUSICAL COURTSHIP  |  November 01, 2010
    Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield were never a serious couple, and they never played music together for very long.
  •   REVIEW: ROCK OF AGES  |  October 12, 2010
    At the start of the hair-metal musical Rock of Ages (at the Colonial Theatre through October 17), narrator Lonny (Patrick Lewallen) promises a night of sexy decadence and general kick-assery.
  •   DREAM SYNDICATE'S STEVE WYNN REVIVES A CLASSIC  |  October 12, 2010
    At the end of 1983, I was writing for Boston Rock magazine, and in one issue, we predicted the defining releases of the year to come.

 See all articles by: BRETT MILANO

LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows