To be honest I know bugger all about the Mud City Manglers. I picked up their debut album “Heart Full of Hate” a few years ago off of eBay having read about them on Facebook and thought that I’d missed the boat on another great band from the turn of the century but I was wrong…….. they’re back (or perhaps they never went away).
It’s only taken 20 years for these Pittsburgh rock & rollers to release a their second album but was it worth the wait? Hell yeah !!!!
“Give Me The Hammer” drags you into a world of melodic Motorhead via the crunch and choruses of New Bomb Turks and Scumbag Millionaire.
“The Way It’s Gonna Be” and “Hangover Hurricane” have a strong Nashville Pussy vibe, which is no bad thing at all.
“One of These Days” notches up the ferocity. Lyrics are spat out with venom. These sure ain’t love songs. “Better off Dead” dials down the speed but not the attitude. Another tail of desperation and debauchery. Half way through the hell ride, side two kicks into gear with “Bring It Down”. There’s almost a fucked up Sunset Strip feel to this bad boy. Faster Pussycat would have killed for a tune like this back in the day. “ Armstrong Park” doesn’t let up the pace much either, it’s kind of got me thinking of The Throbs but more nasty.
“Cheater Bar” is full on Motorhead or maybe melodic Zeke (if there is such a thing). “One More Mile” is takes you right back to Pussy Town. It’s not only a stand out track on this album but it could’ve been a stand out track on “Let Them Eat Pussy” too. Blain-tastic mate!
“Hammered” is an angry Orgasmatron. An exercise in controlled frustration rolled up in monologue with a message – “Be the motherfucker who is unwilling to play along, be the mother fucker who calls them out on their shit…”
Ten tracks in and “Jump into the Fire” throws it all up in the air with a throbbing bass giving way to a banging riff – the spirit of The Five is alive and well – “we can make each other happy!!!”
So there you go…. the wheel has not been reinvented and nor should it. It’s taken Mud City Manglers twenty years to release “Give Me The Hammer” and it’s a shit load better than “Chinese Democracy”. Go and listen to it on Bandcamp and if you’re feeling flush hop over to Spaghetty Town Records, Ghost Highway Records or Beluga Records a grab a copy before it’s too late.
Give Me The Hammer a listen on band camp whilst the limited orange pressing of 100 sold out instantly on pre-order but the traditional chunk black plastic (limited to 400) is still available from Spaghetty Town Records in the USA along with Ghost Highway Records and Beluga Records in Europe.
Europe buy Here / Beluga Records or Here / Ghost Highway Records
USA buy Here / Spaghetty Town Records
Author: Fraser Munro
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