From the genre-defining power pop of The Flaming Groovies in the 70s to the breakthrough success of Jawbreaker’s gruff but saccharine melodic punk in the 90s, San Francisco’s longstanding legacy as an invaluable piece of the American underground musical landscape is hard to overstate. Emerging as worthy torchbearers of that legacy are M.U.T.T.
After the premature and fraught implosion of his previous band Culture Abuse, John Jr. was left unsure of how to proceed. Between a fizzling long-distance collaboration and an aborted hardcore project, nothing was quite falling into place. But after sending some home recordings to fellow Culture Abuse alum Matt Walker, the ghost of an idea began to take shape.
At Walker’s behest, Junior booked time at Jack Shirley’s Atomic Garden Studios. In need of extra hands to fill out the lineup of a quickly emerging full-fledged band, Junior reached out to two more former Culture Abuse bandmates, Isa Anderson and Shane Plitt. In short order, a lo-fi bedroom project had morphed into a fully realized group, eager to move on from the shared trauma of their previous band’s dissolution.
The band is streaming their debut single Night Moves now on Quiet Panic Records and it’s a perfect blend of melodic punk and pop sensibilities, Night Moves is meant to build a strong foundation for the band as they start working towards a full release later in 2022.
They don’t want to reinvent the wheel. They don’t want to change the world. They just want to play good old fashioned rock and roll.
And man, do they ever excel at it.
