99% / This Broke Heart of Mine / Adam and Eve / Ashes / Rock 'n' Roller Girl / First Comes Love / Mercy Me / Good Ol' Alcohol / The Prime of Life / Down But Not Out / Leap of Faith / You Never Really Wanted to Rock 'n' Roll / Have Mercy / Caroline / Say That You Will

COOKING VINYL

There's always been a whiff of parody and tongue in cheekness to The Mooney Suzuki; a New York based four piece rock outfit who've been sitting on the verge of mainstream success for a number of years now.  With their swaggering rock n roll cheekiness and fondness for the more ridiculous, over the top rock gestures; The Mooney Suzuki continue to come across like slightly more earnest version of Tenacious D, or perhaps The Rolling Stones crossed with The Eagles Of Death Metal.

With their latest record, HAVE MERCY, the band deliver a collection of songs that certainly tick all the right swaggering garage rock boxes, an album chock full of righteous guitar riffs and winning melodies.  Opener 99% is a decent, if decidedly retrogressive start; a song that riffs on the bands previous near hit Alive And Amplified, The Mooney Suzuki obviously unafraid to tap into a winning formula more than once in search of that elusive breakthrough moment.  With THIS BROKE HEART OF MINE, they delve into the world of fuzz drenched guitars and hammond organs; a jaunty slice of garage pop that nods to both the Beatles and Sesame Street.  The Stonesy ADAM AND EVE is an effective slab of blues rock that rides along on dirty guitar riffs and infectious melodies, eventually morphing into a Jethro Tull-esque flute laden prog jam whilst on the Mersey beat inspired ASHES, The Mooney Suzuki make out like a New York take on The Zutons.

Elsewhere, ROCK 'N' ROLLER GIRL is a slice of timeless jangly power pop, FIRST COMES LOVE, a spirited rocker that imagines Springsteen jamming with Big Star and title track MERCY ME, a quirky affair full of barrelling power riffs, bar room piano and a huge chorus hook.  GOOD OL' ALCOHOL is a Dixie Jaxx inspired mess that is perhaps best skipped, the band getting back on track with the epic rock pronunciations of THE PRIME OF LIFE.  Closing number, DOWN BUT NOT OUT finds The Mooney Suzuki back in Stones-esque territory, though that tongue in cheek attitude unfortunately prevails, ruining any real sense of connectedness to the music.

HAVE MERCY finds The Mooney Suzuki delivering another album that whilst ticking most of the right rock n roll buttons, is bogged down with a sense of parody and irony that ultimately and all too frequently wrenches you out of the moment.  A decent enough collection of hook laden garage rock but HAVE MERCY is a record who's arch ironic edge makes it hard to love.

BIOGRAPHY

In 1997, during spring semester at Parsons School of Design in New York City, Graham Tyler answered a "musicians wanted" flier placed in local record shops by Sammy James, then a student at School of Visual Arts. The team of singer/songwriter Sammy James Junior and lead guitarist Graham Tyler has remained the heart of The Mooney Suzuki since.

After playing on the band's early recordings, drummer Augie Wilson graduated Cooper Union and relocated to Portland, Oregon, working in graphic design. Recruiting new drummer Will Rockwell and a rotating roster of bass players, the quartet spent the late 90's playing out relentlessly and building a reputation for explosive and cathartic live performances.

The band self-released its first EP, The Mooney Suzuki, booked its own tours, sent out its own publicity mailings, and by 1999, without the help of management, agent, label, or publicist, was selling out rooms from DC to Chicago. The Mooney Suzuki had become New York City's premier, self-made, rock 'n' roll sensation, whose notoriety could only be attributed to tireless work and word of mouth ignited by its legendary rock 'n' roll shows.

The band's next goal was to sign to acclaimed garage rock label Estrus. The self-titled EP had reached the ear of label head Dave Crider, and the group drove five days straight from NYC (with no air-conditioning in late August) to play a single date in Estrus' hometown of Bellingham, Washington -- unsure if Dave would even show up. Dave was there and sent the band into the studio with producer Tim Kerr (Big Boys, Monkeywrench) to record People Get Ready, The Mooney Suzuki's debut LP. Released September, 2000, People Get Ready was described by Mojo music magazine as "unrelenting rock 'n' soul -- an unholy amalgam of Brit R&B, sexy Stax stomp and wild Motor City guitar. . .hand-clappin', foot-stompin'. . .Perfect"

Touring behind People Get Ready, The Mooney Suzuki strived to earn the title "Hardest Working Band in Show Business," logging lap after lap around the US in a mini-school bus, and delivering two sweat-drenched sets a day per city. Following each gig, the band would drive all night, reaching the next town early enough to perform at a record store or college radio show in the afternoon before heading to the evening's venue. There, the Mooney Suzuki would do a full-length set, collect names for the mailing list, and begin the cycle again. This schedule continued for a full year, building the group a strong following along the way.

In the summer of 2001, Jim Diamond (White Stripes, Dirtbombs) invited The Mooney Suzuki to his Ghetto Recordings studio in Detroit. Over three sweltering days in late August, the band members laid down the blistering tracks for their second album, appropriately titled Electric Sweat. Hailed as "Ass-shaking, soul-bearing...garage-punk genius...KKKK" by Kerrang!, Electric Sweat was released in April 2002 to equally rave reviews. Shortly after completion of the record, original drummer Augie Wilson returned to the line-up.

An MTV "You Hear It First" profile, as well as frequent airing of the video "In A Young Man's Mind" on MTV2, helped bring the band to an even wider audience, while appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and the "Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" continued the band's national exposure. The Moonies went to Europe and the UK for the first time, joined The Strokes and The Hives on their respective tours, and appeared on the main stage at the Coachella Festival. Dubbed "It Garage Band" on Entertainment Weekly's "It" List for 2002, The Mooney Suzuki experienced an ever-growing swell of enthusiasm following the release of Electric Sweat, culminating in the band's signing to Columbia Records, who re-released the album in 2003.

After completing Lollapalooza that summer, the group relocated to LA and began feeling out new material. Fittingly, as the band wrote and rehearsed in the Hollywood hills, Paramount Pictures' School of Rock starring Jack Black was released, featuring the title track, "School of Rock," written and performed by The Mooney Suzuki, who debuted on the big screen with a cameo in the film.

For the third record, The Mooney Suzuki teamed up with teen pop producers The Matrix (Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair,) best known for penning Avril's multi-platinum hits. Eschewing the raw, stripped-down minimalism of previous Mooney Suzuki recordings, the band, inspired by The Matrix's modern-day "wall of sound," set out to fashion an unabashedly colorful and ornate new sound: MAXIMALISM. Accustomed to completing an album in less than a week, the Mooney Suzuki spent a full 4 months with The Matrix in LA, exploding forth with a dense, layered and kaleidoscopic collection of songs and sensations: an aural experience.

The resulting album, Alive & Amplified, erupts with brand new sounds and ideas, indelibly marked by the band's patented sass and swagger. Turn it on. . .turn it up. . .and turn it loose!!! Alive & Amplified will blow your speakers, and your MIND. . .

LINE UP

Sammy James Junior

Graham Tyler

Augie Wilson

Curt Wells

DISCOGRAPHY

THE MOONEY SUZUKI (BLACK EP) (Self-Released>1999)

And Begin

I Say I Love You

My Dear Persephone

Half Of My Heart

Turn My Blue Sky Black

Your Love Is A Gentle Whip

PEOPLE GET READY (Estrus Records>2000)

Singin' a Song About Today

Make My Way

Half Of My Heart

I Say I Love You

My Dear Persephone

Oh No

Right About Now

Make You Mine

Everything's Gone Wrong

Do It

Yeah You Can

Everytime

ELECTRIC SWEAT (Columbia Records>2002)

Electric Sweat

In a Young Man's Mind

Oh Sweet Susanna

A Little Bit of Love

It's Not Easy

Natural Fact

It's Showtime Pt II

I Woke Up This Mornin'

The Broken Heart

Electrocuted Blues

ALIVE & AMPLIFIED (Columbia Records>2004)

Primitive Condition

Alive & Amplified

Legal High

New York Girls

Shake That Bush Again

Sometimes Somethin'

Loose 'n' Juicy

Hot Sugar

Messin' in the Dressin' Room

Naked Lady

THE MAXIMUM BLACK EP(V2 Records>2006)

And Begin

I Say I Love You

My Dear Persephone

Half Of My Heart

Turn My Blue Sky Black

Love Is A Gentle Whip

Right On By

Tell Me Why

This Lonely Land

You're Not There

I Can Only Give You Everything

HAVE MERCY (Cooking Vinyl>2007)

99%

This Broke Heart of Mine

Adam and Eve

Ashes

Rock 'n' Roller Girl

First Comes Love

Mercy Me

Good Ol' Alcohol

The Prime of Life

Down But Not Out

Leap of Faith

You Never Really Wanted to Rock 'n' Roll

Have Mercy

Caroline

Say That You Will

LINKS

The Mooney Suzuki>www.themooneysuzuki.com

FURTHER LISTENING

Tenacious D

The Rolling Stones

Eagles Of Death Metal