Published on Dec 6, 2005
With the ubiquitous “put it all on red” Vegas mentality, Sweden
rockers Mustasch are sticking to past formula with the recent
recording of
Powerhouse, the band’s fourth full-length effort.
Calculating a gamble that their past and now present doom-style
rock pattern is the way to go,
Powerhouse further extends Mustasch’s strategy by offering
up a slate of tracks that will find them easily confused with any
other material the band has previously recorded.
Fortunately though, bassist Mats Johansson shows increased
comfort in teaming with rhythm guitarist Hannes Hansson in framing
the
Powerhouse tracks with a largely plodding chord structure
that give lead guitarist and vocalist Ralf Gyllenhammar free reign
to bang out the requisite hooks to surround vocals, likened to what
a perturbed Glenn Danzig would be expected to deliver.
So, chapter four of Mustasch’s tried-and-true style yields a few
fresh hits such as “Accident Blackspot,” a song summarizing a
tempestuous counseling session about one revisiting a selfishly
single-minded focus on life. Make no mistake — Gyllenhammar
sinisterly advises that this is not a love song but rather a song
about fear. Convincingly, I’d say that there are some pretty heady
lyrics to be found on this track, which serve to set up the
following gritty storyline about relationships that surely will
cater to men of all ages.
“Dogwash,” the first single from Powerhouse, laments a guy’s
lower class standing in the chase for romance with the catchy “I’m
a dog and I feel dirty” chorus. This is truly a song with a simple
mission statement and one catchy-as-hell chorus. Listening to this
track, one will quickly sympathize that there need be no shame in
swimming in the gutter of love until perhaps the second single from
the album kicks in with the stately title, “I Lied.”
In this song, Gyllenhammar turns an early seductive vocal plea
into a rather rigid fist pumper based on the laurels of a failed
love affair. Maybe Gyllenhammar sounds so convincing because he’s
figured out that gutter flow eventually leads to the sewer?
Defiantly, the
Powerhouse song trilogy concludes with “I’m Alright,” an
emotional gearshift of assurance that has Gyllenhammar coming to
grips with the demons that have previously flamed the heat on his
subject’s burning heart. The topic of love has always been a basic
tenet of rock n’ roll but rarely has it been covered from beginning
to end with such convincing authority.
From a production standpoint, I’m going to have to yet again
call Mustasch’s label EMI out as I’ve done in the past for putting
their funky copy control sealant on
Powerhouse which randomizes the track order on my computer’s
RealPlayer at the same time it creates an annoying — every 90
second — skip, in song action.
Back to the topic. I’m beginning to liken Mustasch’s career
musical approach to a slow-burn effort in evolution. Past fans are
going to embrace this album for delivering familiar goods while
those that have already passed judgment on the band won’t find
anything on
Powerhouse to win them over — leaving only the uninitiated
to jump on board. Bands like AC/DC have obviously figured out how
to make this strategy work, of course, which is proof that such
critique should be taken within certain context.