REVIEW: MONGREL STATE – MESTIZO (2018)

Published:

mongrel

ˈmʌŋɡr(ə)l/Submit

Noun.

any animal resulting from the crossing of different breeds or types.synonyms: cross-breed, cross, mixed breed, half-breed, hybrid;

In that respect, Dublin’s Mongrel State might be the best named band of all time. Even calling them “Dublin’s” is a stretch. Because although they identify as an Irish band and launched this album with a gig at the iconic Whelan’s venue, they actually come from all over the place.

Bassist and vocalist Darren Flynn, who is the only native Irishman and Claudio Mercante (guitar and vocals) have been in a couple of bands together – notably Rollin’ And Tumblin’ – but this new project has really hit the ground running on their debut record.

Right from the start on “Monster” they distil rock n roll to its most primal, but on their own terms. You can talk about bands like Jim Jones Revue, maybe Jon Spencer Blues Explosion too, but this isn’t beholden to anything else. They follow this up, as if to prove a point, with the superb “Ten Steps Ahead”, which first is gloriously catchy, but more than that it takes you into the hardest edged honky-tonk you can imagine, but adds some proper summery, Beach Boys-esque harmonies for kicks.

“Stray Dogs” – the one you can imagine perhaps as their mission statement –  is infused with the same devil-may-care-last gang-in-town feel as Urban Voodoo Machine (one of the few bands who can beat Mongrel State for sheer eclecticism), while the acoustic “How Many More Times” is shimmering. Such apparent happiness is wonderfully at odds with the lyrics, but the quite fabulous harmonica drenched blues catchiness of “High Time” is as good as it gets.

Each song takes a different turn – my notes for “Dirty Trick” for example said this: “theme to a chat show hosted in hell” – however, given that the album as a whole is astonishingly coherent. Even the instrumental interlude “Oueiro Volver” makes perfect sense given that you can imagine them in a Spaghetti Western and anyway, the song that follows, “Desert Girl” makes that idea fully formed.

“Zombies On The Highway” takes things down to the delta for a mooch around, and you imagine that these boys would have no problem finding trouble so nefarious does this sound, but as if to prove their downright contrary nature they finish with the longest and most gentle cut here. “Rainy Day” floats and is strangely gentle compared to the outright rock n roll that has gone before.

The true skill in “Mestizo”, though, is that all the moving parts fit. In other hands this might have sounded like a compilation album at best or something entirely self-indulgent at worst. Not here. This is interesting and compelling, and downright superb. Mongrel State are the dogs that will have their day, make no mistake.

Rating 8.5/10

 

More From Author

spot_img

Popular Posts

Latest Gig Reviews

Latest Music Reviews

spot_img

Band Of The Day