If you frequent RNRF at all here or follow us on Facebook, then you already know of our love for Those Mockingbirds. We were introduced to them when they hit Cambridge’s Middle East back in March with singles like “How To Rob A Bank” and “A Ballad From Hell” and fell for them immediately. Singles are one thing but an album’s worth of original material is what separates The Good, The Bieber and The Ugly. So which category does Penny The Dreadful fall into?
The best thing I can say about Those Mockingbirds is that there is absolutely no way you can pigeonhole (Only bird reference, I swear!) their sound into a nice, tidy category, sub-category, what-have-you. At one point during Penny The Dreadful they’re the raucous saviors of good old fashion Von Bondies-style rawk and/or roll, the next they’re the fuzzing out their sound even more like CKY on “Teenage Fantasies” while “Loose Leather” transitions to some solid sing-a-long Pop.
Take opener “A Ballad From Hell” as another example. It acts as the calm before the storm until “How To Rob A Bank” rips through your speakers with Tory Daines’ violin gorgeously accenting the down home overall Southern feel of the song yet Those Mockingbirds hail from New Jersey.
They’re an “enigma, wrapped in a riddle, surrounded by mystery” and if one tries too hard to figure Those Mockingbirds out then they’re just taking away from the fun of listening to the band and not giving a damn who they sound like. Just let the band churn out some solid tunes with reckless aplomb, sit back, relax, and be thankful that there is still some originality left in the music world today.
Penny The Dreadful is out, um, NOW! What are you doing still reading this? Go get yours right away. Here!