Muzz - Muzz Review

This record’s atmosphere is definitely one of the more peaceful from 2020 even with its often-sombre tone

Muzz are a supergroup of sorts comprised of Paul Bank, of Interpol fame, Matt Barrick, drummer for the Walkmen, and Josh Kaufman from Bonny Light Horseman. This album is a clear culmination of the warm friendship these artists share, taking five years to write amidst other projects, and you can feel the peaceful attitude throughout. There’s a consistent warmth in the production of this record too which is enhanced by Bank’s ruffled voice.

‘Bad Feeling’ is a meditative piece. Its calm guitar chords gently wash over you as it progresses, its music inducing a tranquility in the listener with how peaceful it comes across. ‘Evergreen’ comes close to the late Richard Swift in its instrumentation and ‘Red Western Sky’ has a powerful piano-driven chord progression throughout, pumping the track forward with engaging stabs. Something about this track reminds me of something you’d expect of an Arcade Fire album (before they went all disco!). ‘Patchouli’ starts with broken guitar arpeggios and swelling synthesisers and vocally brings an almost Caleb Followill vibe to the album.

‘Everything Like It Used To Be’ is definitely a standout track. Its moody guitar strums lead into some of the more poignant lyrics on the record; with ‘My mistakes are hanging in mid air’ there’s an overbearing melancholy feeling. The ending of this track is blissful in its instrumentation, creating warm echoes that form a brilliant sonic atmosphere. Like other tracks on this record there are frequent angelic allusions and whether this is biblical or not it definitely brings a grandiose sense of scale to the project. At the start of ‘Broken Tambourine’ you hear birds chirping in the background that curate a quaint intimacy throughout the first minute or so of the track. It then moves into thick drum beats and harmonised vocals. There’s something about this track (and album) that sonically reminds me of Beck’s work on Odelay and Guero if it had been chilled out substantially. With ‘Knuckleduster’, you realise the strength of instrumentation here. At no point does this album feel flat; the mix is perfect in a lot of respects, especially the sprawling pianos and guitar parts.

‘Chubby Checker’ has a moody atmosphere right from the start. There is a bitterness in the way Banks croons ‘Back on your feet, how you planned it’ to the extent that it evokes a kind of spitefulness. The guitar solo on subsequent track ‘How Many Days’ is incendiary, tearing through your speakers with its distorted buzz. Something about ‘Summer Love’ almost reminds me of R.E.M, though I wouldn’t say this is a great thing. There’s definitely more of a one-note vibe with this record and at times Banks’ vocal delivery is a bit tedious in its slow delivery. Like many tracks on this album though, the guitars here are beautiful, shining through any monotonous elements — especially the ones panned to your right towards the end of the track.

‘All Is Dead To Me’ is another song that follows the vibes of the previous track, although Banks’ vocal delivery is definitely a lot stronger on this track. Lyrically, you can feel a continuation of the themes of pain and loss as Banks cries ‘By myself again’, possibly conveying the artist’s sense of isolation. ‘Trinidad’ is the last track on the album, where blues-y guitar wails intertwine with horns to create one of the more powerful tracks on the record. This track has a lovely descending chord progression in the chorus that grants it a strong place closing out the album. 

While this album has some strong moments and is definitely a very pleasant listen, it is really lacking in any freshness as a coherent piece. The music is enjoyable though, at times sincerely unique and interesting, especially in the production. However, the main issue is that this record can feel boring and uninspired at times, leaving you wanting more from the project — and sadly not in the good way. This record’s atmosphere is definitely one of the more peaceful from 2020 even with its often-sombre tone but with 12 tracks that all sound homogenous its moments of repetition and dullness leave a fairly underwhelming impact.