The Mooney Suzuki – Alive & Amplified

Artist: The Mooney Suzuki

Title: Alive & Amplified

Label: Columbia

Rating: 8/10

CORPORATE LINE: 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. Tracks include: “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,” and “Naked Lady.”

THE GREAT:
“Alive & Amplified” – The scene is set for The Mooney Suzuki to beam down from a wild space ship from the past—1970—and its only desire is to rock us. “Turn me up!”
“Legal High” – You’ve got a foot? Well this one is guaranteed to get said foot tapping. It will remind KISS fans of their glory days.
“Sometimes Somethin’” – Gorgeous in a big rock opera kind of way—speaking of rock opera “Loose ‘N’ Juicy” is absurd but fun even if it has a Meatloaf thing happening.

THE AVERAGE:
“Primitive Condition” – Corny, yet somehow irresistible.
“Shake That Bush Again” – Hendrix without playing the guitar with their teeth.
“Naked Lady” – Even though you might laugh a few times at its silliness, it rocks you.

THE BAD: Nothing.

FRANKLY: The Mooney Suzuki is this year’s biggest surprise. They’ve tapped into the ‘70s better than many of their contemporaries—yes we’re talking about you Lenny Kravitz. Alive & Amplified is all that and more. Grab your platform shoes, mullet wig, and prepare to rock all night long.

+ Rae Gun