Mugshots, The: Something Weird

I'm wary of anything willing to describe itself as weird. Surely that's a title that should be bestowed upon you, rather than being self anointed? However with Italy's The Mugshots using their latest album, Something Weird, as a way to celebrate their fifteenth year together, we can only hope their longevity will ensure they know what they're talking about.

You'll never be able to accuse these guys of playing it safe, or for lacking diversity, but then neither would you call them wild and wacky for the sake of it. That however doesn't stop some elements of Something Weird verging on quirky, while some could be described as plainly lacking focus. To be fair, why should this lot conform? If you want goth rock, it's here. If you fancy some 80s synth, then you can have that too. Pop? Punk? Rock? Kitchen sink? Yes, let's throw all of them in there and see what happens. In the event, what does occur is that "I Am An Eye" sounds like REM jamming with Type O Negative and "Ophis" comes across as though Rob Zombie had the blood sucked from his mojo by a Jean Michel Jarre synth soundtrack. Whereas "Grey Obsession" feels like a piss-take of George Harrison at his most mystical, while "Dusk Patrol" would appear to be a mean, moody introduction to some horror-fantasy concept piece that simply never arrives. In all their bouncy 'fun', the songs actually deal with the world and how, well, horrible it is. Topics such as the greyness of life or the over population of the planet, covered… Maybe weird ain't such a bad way to convey what's going on here after all.

With the anniversary in mind, a plethora of guests are invited to the party, members of Death SS, Delirium, Necromass and Counting Crows, amongst others, involved, and while I don't want to pop the band's party balloon, maybe it's this type of scattergun approach that ultimately scuppers their album's chance of sounding like much more than a good bit of knockabout fun. Which, of course, there's nothing wrong with. We all deserve some fun, but personally I like mine to be a little more inclusive than that presented here, the overall feeling being that The Mugshots are happy to look at their own smiling faces and not worry too much if anyone else is coming along for the ride.

Track Listing
1. Introitus
2. The Circus
3. Rain
4. I Am an Eye (feat. Freddy Delirio)
5. An Embalmer's Lullaby, Pt. 2 (feat. Andrea Calzoni)
6. Ophis
7. Sentymento (feat. Enrico Ruggeri)
8. Scream Again (feat. Steve Sylvester, Freddy Delirio, Ain Soph Aour)
9. Grey Obsession (feat. Matt Malley, Martin Grice, Mike Browning)
10. Dusk Patrol (feat. Tony Dolan)
11. Pain (feat. Manuel Merigo)
12. Ubique

Added: March 10th 2017
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: The Mugshots online
Hits: 1525
Language: english

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