The Mooney Suzuki: Garage rock done right

The Mooney Suzuki: People Get Ready

One night when the Mooney Suzuki opened for the Donnas here in Chicago at Metro, I ran into the band’s lead guitarist Graham Tyler [not trying to impress you with how cool I am, that I get such access to rock bands—but rather how cool the band is, that they come out and hang out with the fans]. The second band, a girl punk group called Bratmobile, was into its third song. Which sounded like the second. Which sounded like the first.

I asked Tyler if they were going to change it up at any point. He said, “No, they’re pretty much a one-trick pony.” Then he quickly added, “So are we. But it’s a fun pony.”

I kind of saw his point: The dozen songs on People Get Ready have, shall we say, a well-defined cohesiveness of sound. But they do mix it up a bit, way more than Bratmobile, for instance. And it is definitely one fun pony.

New York-based Mooney Suzuki’s music sits firmly in the middle of one of my favorite genres: Garage rock, with music scruffier than more mainstream rock, but less angry than punk. Light on guitar solos and heavy on the distortion and attitude, stripped down and raw. The kind of swagger you wish more rock had. I do, anyway. Their live shows are huge fun, and this album comes close to capturing that energy and excitement. Some would say that they’re covering ground others have already been over. When it sounds this good, I say yeah, so what?

Catch the Mooney Suzuki live. For other dates and places where they’re playing, check out their website.

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