Mutts “Pray For Rain” 2011. Mutts Music (ie self-released) on orange vinyl. Another record that has been languishing in the to-do pile since before the pandemic. It’s gotten so bad that I don’t know if we bought this from the band or not, and if so when that could have been. Stuck into the record is this setlist on a cheap crumpled paper napkin and I have zero recollection of where/when/how:

Mutts setlist from ????

We saw Mutts (from Chicago, now mostly defunct since frontman/singer/pianist Mike Maimone relocated to Nashville – I think – around 2019 or so) pre-pandemic, both at Mile of Music and in Indianapolis for Romanus Records Fest (possibly twice there). They are absolutely fantastic live and Pray For Rain, their first full-length, channels a lot of their brand of energetic bluesy and soulful garage rock, punctuated by Maimone’s signature deep growl (one reviewer says, “Mike Maimone fires off his lyrics like pissed off Nick Cave in a blues mood”). Wherever/whenever we saw them they clearly played two songs off of the LP and they are two of my top picks: “Not Ready” which is super high-energy with a ska-like beat, and “Done It Again” which has a sinister waltzing beat and a feeling like the listener is darting along an old-timey 20’s film noir movie set. That old-timey vibe is also present on “D.O.B.” (feels a bit Cab Calaway) and the sinister on the super-dark, gothic (not goth, just gothic) “Save Us.” Two other top picks are “Throwback” which has a super-funky, slinky groove plus chugga-chugga rocking guitar, and the album closer “Putting on a Show” which is a combo of pure chaos, a highly danceable beat and some serious head-banging vibes.