speed of dark

Once upon a time I'd spend hours in a couple of favorite used CD stores. On one occasion the store had a listening station for customers to listen to albums by new, unknown artists. That's how I fell in love at first listen to the debut album Betty Pickup by the Seattle band Muzzle. I bought the CD immediately and listened to nothing else for weeks.

I also had a habit of checking the Calendar section of the L.A. Times for appearances at small clubs. Lo and behold, two weeks after I bought that CD, Muzzle were scheduled to play at some little bar in the south coast area along with three other unknown bands. Hot damn!

I arrived in front of the place the afternoon of the date to find four guys unloading their equipment from a van. "Which band are you?" I inquired. "We're Muzzle," they answered. Their eyes popped when I told them I'd just driven 150 miles to see THEM.

After the equipment was set up inside, we hung out at the bar while the other bands played. I met Wesley Nelson (vocals, guitar) and Ryan Maxwell (lead guitar, vocals), who led the band and wrote the songs.

I saw Muzzle one other time a few months later when they appeared at the Viper Room, opening for some band I can't remember. As I walked up to the club, I saw Wesley sitting on the curb, dejected because they couldn't get in until the other band had finished their sound check. He glanced my way, then did a double-take. "I know you!" he said. Yup! And we had another fun discussion before the show. I still have my green T-shirt with "Muzzle" in white on the front.

I was so into punk at that time, and Muzzle's music has all the excitement and energy of that music without any of the anger or angst. No grunge-y gloom here; it's happy music that makes you want to pogo around the living room from the joy of being alive. Musically they owe more to Bob Mould and Weezer than to fellow Seattlites Kurt Cobain or Screaming Trees. Betty Pickup is chock-full of deliciously melodious power pop with just enough spice to make you thirst for more.

As I listen to it even now, the tight harmonies and hummable hooks give me goosebumps the same way they used to. There just is not a bad song on this CD. To top it off, the lyrics are good too, reflecting a consistent good humor.

Listen to that Beatle-esque guitar and harmony on "What A Bore."
You're such a dirty little girl/You bit your tongue again/You shouldn't talk like that!

"Glug" recounts Wesley staying the night in his old bedroom at home, and his mother trying to wake him up in the morning:
I could tell by the way she called me 'asshole' she'd given up on me.

The words to "Shatterproof" only seem simple. Most lyrics you hear don't make nearly as much sense:
All I need/Is my favorite ring--I won it/And this dirty old chair I'm living in/Someone to help me find my keys/And the way to get home.

"Bleed On" was always my favorite. When Wes sings that descending note near the end, I just melt.
Bleed on me/Only if it matters/My little star, I'd give you all/I'd give you all I have.

From Betty Pickup (1996):
Muzzle: What A Bore
Muzzle: Shatterproof
Muzzle: Bleed On

Proof of its staying power, this CD is still available both new and used at amazon.com and itunes. If you are in the mood for some peppy power-pop, this is a must-have CD.

As I thought about writing this post, I wondered what Wes and Ryan were doing now and started searching the Internet for them. To my delight, they are still making music, and it still sounds great. Their new band is the Young Sportsmen. Listen to this song from their first EP The Familiar Glow of Colliding Particles, and you'll see they haven't lost any of their talent for pop riffs and melodies. They have just released a second EP.

The Young Sportsmen: Nickel For Lucy from The Familiar Glow of Colliding Particles (2005)

Young Sportsmen myspace | website
Buy here: not lame records | itunes | emusic.