New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Green Light Go) Chicago's Mutts are a keys/bass/drums trio who have been described as "Tom Waits fronting a garage band" by Time Out Magazine, and "what
Queens Of The Stone Age would sound like if they ditched the guitars and started playing some dirty sounding organs" by Loud Loop Press.
But wait just one minute. On their 3rd LP - Object Permanence, out April 2nd, 2013 - the gritty trio sheds all amplification and goes clean. Just when it seems that press and promoters are finally getting comfortable with the band's sound (recently performing for Consequence of Sound, Daytrotter and booked at top-tier venues regionally alongside Murder by Death, Astronautalis and Maps & Atlases among others), Mutts is switching up their sound illustrating that they are not a band concerned with categorization.
The fulfillment of a $10,000 Double-LP Kickstarter campaign, in which they recorded one acoustic and one amplified album, the band says that "going into this session we challenged ourselves to try something new on each track." Recording live with minimal overdubs, Mutts sound like veteran artists with a fresh set of tools. And on their fifth release, Maimone still finds new ground to break lyrically, addressing the anxiety involved in coming out to his parents, exclusion in modern Christianity and politics, and finding new angles for social commentary on class warfare, divisive media, and the age of instant gratification. The transition paid off with Mutts receiving support on their new LP on Daytrotter, WGN, NPR's
Chicago affiliate WBEZ, Audio Tree Live, and WXRT among others.
Mutts are:
Bob Buckstaff - Electric Bass,
Double Bass, Guitar
Mike Maimone - Keyboards, Vocals
Chris Pagnani - Drums
Follow Mutts on Facebook and Twitter
facebook.com/wearemutts
twitter.com/wearemutts
Praise for Mutts
"Mutts music embraces the inner turmoil, the things that are striven for, the ways that we fall short, the ways we're let down, as well as the few things that spark us back onto the right track, even if those are the rare moments, the briefest of comebacks." -Sean Moeller - Daytrotter
"Chicago trio Mutts' nimble, funky rhythm section, with Bob Buckstaff on the low notes and Chris Pagnani behind the kit, would be entertaining to watch on its own, but throw in growling, keyboard-wielding frontman Mike Maimone, and you've got a monster on your hands." - Nashville Scene Magazine
"Separation Anxiety is a serious recording dealing with profound issues...These 10 cuts are weighty yet worthwhile." - Jeff Berkwits - Illinois Entertainer Magazine
"With dark lyrics and vocals that sound like unfiltered Camels soaked in whisky, it's no wonder Time Out
Chicago once described the
Chicago band Mutts as "Tom Waits fronting a garage band." - WBEZ Morning Shift
"Chicago rockers Mutts are leaving the amps at home these days. Listeners can expect the same organ-heavy blues rock set to sparkling piano grooves, which is offset perfectly by frontman Mike Maimone's own smoky, rough and tumble vocals." - Loud Loop Press
