The Mooney Suzuki, named after two members of influential kraut-rockers Can, think they're pretty damn radical. From their press photos, one could gather that these boys have raided Lou Reed's attic (or at the very least, made off with some of the Strokes' luggage). Complete with tight leather, black jeans, and dark shades, these kids are ready for fame. In just about every picture, you've got a guy doing the rock splits, kicking out the attitude and the sexed-up pouts. With more poses than Zoolander, they'd best be able to back it up with some decent rock.
Well, for the record, they do. Last year's People Get Ready was an amazing debut from the leather-clad lads, and proved to be a wonderful fusion of punk ethos and a dirty garage-rock dance party. You could throw on the LP just about any time of day and party along to the Mooney Suzuki's simple guitar hooks, a thundering bass, and tight disco drumming. With Electric Sweat, the band brings more of that goodness to the table-- and this time with more style than a Barbizon School for Modeling.
Electric Sweat was recorded in Detroit, the birthplace of dirty rock 'n' roll. Jim Diamond (of soul-punk outfit the Dirtbombs) has brought a gritty recording aesthetic to the group. Electric Sweat was created at Ghetto Recorders, where the White Stripes, Jon Spencer, and the Come Ons have cut tracks recently. And the Mooney Suzuki have certainly soaked up the atmosphere of Motor City. Electric Sweat is an infectious collection of grooves that proudly utilizes the traditional vocabulary of rock 'n' roll and R&B; to maximum effect.
The title track opens the record up with a guitar line courtesy of Graham Tyler's axe (rumor has it his guitar was fashioned out of a piece of wood from the bar top of the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans) that could be straight off Exile on Main Street, setting the pace for the rest of the record, lyrically and musically. "Get ready/ Get set/ What you get is electric sweat," completely sums up the energy and the simplicity of this album. Or the intro to "Oh Sweet Susana"-- a bluesy, acoustic guitar rant that leads into a laid-back southern rock groove that would make Muddy Waters grin from ear to ear. The swagger factor reaches its peak at "Natural Fact," with its foot stompin' chorus and lines like: "Mother Nature leave me be/ Desire off my back/ All this feeling killing me/ I need you girl before I crack."
It's exciting to hear the influences of such monumental groups as the Who and the Yardbirds being waved all over the record with such youthful exuberance. Overall, there isn't much to complain about, even when it all sounds vaguely familiar. Like the Strokes and the White Stripes, the Mooney Suzuki pulls from all the right influences to make a very cool, danceable sound infused with enthusiasm and energy.
