The Boss Mustangs - S/T

Lost along the top margin, printed in tiny block letters, are the words "File Under: The Boss Mustangs - Rock and Roll."

Hell yeah!

I mean, HELL YEAH!

The Boss Mustangs come raging from outta where ever it is that they come from sounding like the kinky bastard sex child of the Sonics and the MC5 or the bloody aftermath of an epic night of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, a case of whiskey, a fist full of uppers,  and some unknown substance to be identified by the science lab later.

File Under: Rock, indeed.

Revved up, amped up, frantic old school garage rock is the name of the game here and the Boss Mustangs bring it on full throttle, raw and full of badass '60's attitude.  Imagine an illegal drag race on the mean streets of Detroit circa 1969, beer and oil spewing, speed and bennies flying, girls lurching and churning, men angry and throwing fists, as big motored muscle cars tear the shit outta the asphalt.  Yep, that's the Boss Mustangs.

From their too-cool-for-words matching Nero jackets to the authentic fuzz of their dual-guitar assault, The Boss Mustangs don't miss a trick.  So let's dig in shall we?  First, did I say fuzz?  I meant it.  Whereas, Dave Davies famously took a razor to his amp to produce that fuzz tone for "You Really Got Me," The Boss Mustangs took a freaking chainsaw.  Thick slabs of distorto guitar cranking through 3-chord rave-ups of the first order and guitar solos serious enough to show that these guys got real chops.  Not a lost note here, just crunchy spewed out garage guitar nirvana.

The singer?  Well, I wouldn't want to be an epithelial cell on his vocal chords.  When this dude wants to rave, he can reach down and screech with the best of em.  Serious vocal chord shredding loss of abandon like the best moments of those crazy Sonics songs like "Psycho."  And when he's not letting it loose, the guy can actually sing.  Soft or loud, we got that covered.

So that leaves just one thing.  The songs.  From the first moment that big guitar comes in after the high hat intro to "Turn On"  I was sold.  Toss in a fertile scream, set the rhythm section loose like a pack of angry attack dogs and we got one of the damn best garage-punk songs I've heard in ages.  I mean this song has it all. Wailing guitars, big hooks, and a beat that'd drive the Go-Go dancers crazy, shaking that frilly stuff covering their hips and asses in an orgasmic frenzy.  No matter what anybody else says, this should be the party anthem for pool parties the nation over. 

And The Boss Mustangs aren't one-trick ponies.  "Mrs. McKee" b/w "Hazel Holly (Please Come Back) was the bands first 7" and both cuts are included here.  The first being a pounding retro-60's beast of burden with more fuzz than an orchard of peaches, while the later brings in some sweet songwriting dynamics before launching into that crushing riff and mayhem that follow.  Both cuts got big melodies and serious garage chops.

Then there's "New York Francine."  Damn, I know I've heard this song before.  It was at that speed party in the basement underground club.  1969?  Detroit?  Chi-town?  Don't remember.  Too many dead brain cells but the booze was flowing, the girls were loose, and . . . well, I'll never tell.   Needless to say, "New York Francine" brings out all the best of Motor City madness.

The Boss Mustangs call what they do Powergarage RocknRoll.  Yep.  They say they nail the sound of heavy post psychedelic-era Detroit and London.  Check.  Raw and ragged, high energy, oil can smashed to the face, garage rock stompers.  I'm there.  Liked the album so much I immediately ran out and bought the 7"  vinyl.  You should too.

File Under: The Boss Mustangs - Rock and Roll.

--Racer

www.thebossmustangs.com/