THE MOONEY SUZUKI - Have Mercy Review

There's a huge difference between plundering rock'n'roll history to craft a revivalist short-hand for nostalgia and resuscitating a bygone era with a new jolt of creativity. New York's Mooney Suzuki, longtime garage-rock standard-bearers has probably been guilty of the former over the course of its decade-long career than it even attempted the latter. With Have Mercy that changes -- but only a little.

The album, which was recorded for V2 Records and shelved for half a year as that label folded, leaving the band to scramble for a new contract, still sees the four-piece standing firmly on its retro foundation. This time around, though, Have Mercy yanks the band out of the garage -- and into anonymous '70s hard rock. Hey, it's progress, of a sort....full text A few years back, the Mooney Suzuki were the closest thing the garage-rock revival had to Spinal Tap – New Yorkers doing the scuzzy, rock-till-you-drop thing with over-the-top songs and shtick-y live shows. Their fourth LP keeps it raggedly tuneful on rave-ups like "Rock N' Roller Girl." But they still sound generic – a bar band in search of songs....full text The band proudly displays on the back of the album a quote from the New York Times that reads: “Loud, boring, and utterly charmless. If you've been searching for a reason to hate garage rock, the Mooney Suzuki is the band for you.” I suppose such a serious slam from the Big Apple's premier news source can be worn as a badge of honor by these dirty rock dudes. Unless you consider the addition of a flute, whistle, piano and the always heart-warming glockenspiel the type of instrumentation typical to garage rock, “Have Mercy” certainly strays from their typical sound....full text