Rating: NNN
There was always a concern over what sort of havoc Andrew Dickson might wreak if the Tricky Woo guitarist ever got hold of a bigger sound system, a few extra axe-wielding members or, god forbid, both. Now that Dickson has been joined by the hairier members of Local Rabbits, Bliss and Blood Sausage they’ve released their debut disc.
It appears there wasn’t much to worry about even with that Grateful Dead-style double-drumming set-up. Instead of bulldozing supergroup bluster, the Mongrels deliver impressively tight, riff-heavy boogie blues rock with a tendency to veer off on proggish tangents characterized by frequent rhythmic shifts, blazing guitar solos and banshee hollering by ballsy chick singer Amy Dynamite. This is what Broken Social Scene might’ve sounded like had they come from Montreal and listened to Av’nir, Offenbach and Black Oak Arkansas instead of Pavement and Neutral Milk Hotel.
