Universe Revolves Around The Muffs, Scientists Acknowledge Zilch



I love dumping on Southern California. Usually for no reason beyond lame prejudice (that, and I haven't been able to get away with dumping on England for years), but the relatively paucity of good so-cal rock bands in the '90's/zeros has made it easy.





The big exception to the rule, however, is The Muffs. Kim Shattuck has been making the pop genius thing look easy for years now...though I suspect there's nothing easy about it. The new Muffs album, 'Really Really Happy' isn't a massive departure from their last couple, and that's not a bad thing. Musically, Shattuck's songs (the harder rocking ones at least) are deceptively formulaic --- that is, if you consider ridiculously catchy 2-3 minute blasters accompanied by her sometimes mournful, sometimes funny, always smart lyrical observations to be a formula. As consistently great songwriters go, she has few equals. Dropping the names of Bob Pollard and Ray Davies only serves to get your hackles up, but what's a hackle or two between friends. Though she's not made nearly the sorta stylistic leaps characteristic of either of those two gentlemen, Kim's hit vs. miss ratio is staggeringly high.

To say the rhythm section of Ronnie Barnett (bass) and Roy McDonald (drums) serve as the perfect foil(s) to Shattuck doesn't really do them justice. For one thing, if you've ever tried to use aluminum foil in place of a rhythm section, you'd know it sounds terrible. And please, feel free to add the Muffs to my list of ridiculously great rock trios that wouldn't make Little Steven's hit parade (though in Silvio's defense, the Muffs were a quartet way back when)

They're the only band on earth to let CC Deville play a solo on one of their records and not lose their dignity in the process. The Muffs' latest is available now on the Five Foot Two record label, and if you've never checked them out or just presumed they weren't your kind of thing, well, perhaps they aren't. But wouldn't you'd rather have an informed opinion?

Posted: Fri - September 3, 2004 at 12:33 AM      

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