Mutt - Creature

Mutt 

Creature
self-released; 2016

3.8 out of 5

By Ted Rogen
​

May Black (vocals/guitar), Austin Dillon (guitar), Juli Sherry (bass) and Chris Maneri (drums) are the recently formed Mutt. I listened to their debut Creature before reading that they formed in 2015. Suffice it to say it’s not very often you can find a band that sounds this focused and refined after being together for such a relatively small amount of time.

The band plays an amalgamation of different styles from blues to punk and a couple of genres in between. If there were one thing that tied a lot these songs together I would say it was the dynamics. Their band can go from zero to sixty with little warning. Even more to the point are the dynamics of May who doesn’t hold anything back when she wants to rev up the energy.

The EP starts with a certifiable highlight entitled “Ad Nauseam.” It’s a fun frantic song that contains elements of punk and powerpop. Deerhoof and Love is All are good reference points. The song is full of an impressive amount of transitions that they fit in a good amount in during its four-plus-minutes. From the heart pounding verse, to the burst of start and stop energy on the chorus to the breakdown.

Blacks’ lyrics avoid clichés about idealizing your partner and instead seem to focus on the grime associated with a one-sided relationship. She sings, “You're thinking of me? / So fucking what  / They're your dreams / they don't make me cum / Its all the same / we start to run / Can never tell which one of us is either one.” Next up is “Ain't No Sun” which has a distinct bluesy, swamp feel. I enjoyed the amount of energy they were able to put into this song, which could have been rather standard in lesser hands. 

Take the song “Blow Up The Outside World” and combine it with Mazzy Star and you should have a good idea of what the “The American” sounds like. “Blood and Bone” is a very dynamic, hard-hitting song with elements of blues and hard rock while the closer “The Tides” takes it time getting into epic territory.

​Mutt is off to a great start with Creature and given the amount of time they have been together I expect greater things in the future. This four-piece is one you will certainly want to be checking in on.

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