The Mystery Girls
“In the Meantime The In Between Time”
(Kind Turkey Records)
This
cassette is my first introduction to the band Mystery Girls. You know, a lot of times when I listen to
music, unless you see it as a band you know I’ve reviewed before, it’s probably
my first time being introduced to a band.
And I’m no stranger to demos, in fact I seek them out on some level, but
this is quite a way to make an impression on someone who is listening to a band
for the first time.
Side A
of “In the Meantime The In Between Time”
(Which I will now shorten to “this tape” from here on out) is a mixture of
rarities, outtakes and demos. Now,
rarities, sure, but these songs don’t really have that quality (or lack
thereof) that you think of when you see words like “outtakes” and “demos”.
So
rather than hearing ten to twelve songs that are straight forward and
presumably the best that the band has to offer, I am getting the songs (on Side
A) that were either earlier versions (i.e. pre-the good stuff), left on the
studio floor (i.e. not the good stuff) or songs that people couldn’t
necessarily identify this band with having recorded.
Needless
to say, The Mystery Girls are coming into this review fighting an uphill battle
from the start.
But I
do like this. The Mystery Girls never
sound any less than their best (Well, from what I know of them, right?) on Side
A and you can’t tell demos are demos or why songs might be outtakes. (Maybe there just wasn’t enough room on the
album or it didn’t fit the groove, but it certainly isn’t the quality of the
songs) The Mystery Girls have a sound
that I like to call punk rock n roll. It’s
something that can only be attributed to a band by me with the precise dose of
both punk and rock n roll so as not to sound too much like the Ramones nor the
Strokes. (I don’t really think of The
Strokes as being rock n roll, but people will often associate even the label
“punk rock n roll” with a band like them.
Poor misguided souls)
The
Mystery Girls have the raw energy of a band like River City Rebels or Stray
Cats. They sound like they should be a
part of the Burger Records family They
also have a flat out rock n roll song with horns circa 1980’s/1990’s Motor
City. And, yes, they can even cross
into a bluesy sound like that band I reviewed once who reviewed Little Richard
in a punk rock style. 
All of
the same applies to Side B except that Side B is them playing live. If you consider Side A to be them at their
worst, at least in theory, then Side B would be them at their best because
bands that are better in studios than live do not belong in my speakers. So, really, you can go fromthe worst to the best of this band in one single tape, but I don’t really think it’s all that bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment