Mystery Ship-S/t EP (2012)

Back when I was a teenage wasteoid punkrocker, I hated classic rock, to the point of yelling at friends who liked Led Zeppelin when we'd get drunk. But with age comes wisdom, they say, or in any case maybe more self-consciousness. Somewhere around 20, when I started smoking weed, I decided Neil Young was a'ight, and since then I've even been known to countenace "Immigrant Song" on the jukebox.

Enter Seattle's Mystery Ship, a buncha dudes blasting out unpretentious good times rock. What immediately leaps out at you when the needle drops is the watertight song construction: the guitars are perfectly in tandem, the vocals phrased just right, and the rhythm section is solid (Travis'* drumwork demonstrating just how important tight drumming is to a band's overall sound).

"Lady from Alexandria" is built around a massive guitar lead and lockstep drumming, with Alex singing about, uh, scientists, I think...they are called Mystery Ship, after all. It's the guitars that set this apart, with the bridges worthy of Sabbath.

"Medusa" is more heavy rock, swaggering along while Alex completely nails the Neil Young tone. "Wide Eyed Girl" is my favorite song here: a driving, old-time rock 'n' roll raveup perfect for arrhythmically dancing around your room in an alcoholic daze, while "King Frong Blues" goes in for heavily baked electric blues.

Most of the music I listen to doesn't come close to the production quality and songwriting capabilities of this EP, which is all the more impressive since it's a DIY release.

Check out Mystery Ship if you're in the Northwest; if not, listen to EP, and get a copy, here!

*Apologies to Travis for originally calling him Tripp. Whoops.