for those about to rock

On "Muff"

"Muff" is a name that conveys literally the sonic particulars of the Jumping Bomb Girls' 3rd album -- indeed, a Muff processing pedal helped leaven the heavy gain you hear throughout -- but it also encapsulates the character and attitude of the overall SOUND: warm and fuzzy, brash and bold, like strikes of greased lighting and the calm surrounding the storm captured and bottled up in the same jar. These songs are contagious in their effervescence: "Your Army of Shit Heels" thumps with a bassy drive that coalesces in a burst of razor sharp distortion, while "Neptune Married the Treble" is an ebullient, rollicking number that wraps its arms tight around you for a splashy jaunt on Long Island Sound. Making a strong case for standout track of the cd, with its bristling guitars and a triumphant, the-gang's-all-here chorus, "Get Ready for the F-U Fuzz" is an undeniable anthem to the undeniable power of the anthem. But like the best pop-smiths, JBG knows that a hook is only a hook insofar as it asserts and manifests in its own fleeting moment, and this is perhaps nowhere better evidenced than when the plaintive determination of album closer "Delancey" whisks away stark on a midnight train and leaves you to soak in the humming afterglow.

posted by jomilkman @ 9:49 AM