Meet The Mongrolls

The Mongrolls have been a one-man band ever since a series of grave misfortunes befell the classic lineup you may remember from the pages of Tiger Beat. Mere days after drummer Elvis Mongroll left the band to pursue a career in Revolutionary War themed pornographic films, second guitarist Moses Mongroll was kicked out for inappropriate touching of singer Greg’s ultra prized Ebenezer & The Bludgeons seven-inch. And with bass player Snake Mongroll currently doing 10-20 years in state prison for stealing military issue Twinkies, Greg Mongroll carries on valiantly and single-handedly. It takes great versatility and laborious effort for one man to do the work of three or four, but clearly there are benefits to such an arrangement. The band can never really “break up”. And there are no arguments about “musical direction” or whose songs to use. Having already self-released four CDs in five years, The Mongrolls are due to drop a new album soon. In the meantime, head on over to the band’s ReverbNation page and enjoy tons of great music for the bargain price of free.

The pride of Middleboro, Massachusetts (the cranberry capital of the world), The Mongrolls could perhaps be described as Teengenerate fronted by Oscar the Grouch. Greg’s mix of lo-fi trash, catchy punk, and Killed by Death inspired proto hardcore really takes me back to the days when garage punk was king. Ya gotta love that raw, filthy guitar sound that tears through your speakers like a chainsaw. And the vocals are something else: pissed-off, foul-mouthed, and just a little psychotic. It’s hard to believe that one guy is playing everything, because the music totally makes me picture a bunch of crazy dudes just killing it on stage and playing the living hell out of every note of every song. These tunes flat-out rip! I mean, you’ve never heard “Teenage Kicks” like this before! But with the Mongrolls, you don’t just get generic thrashing. Especially while spinning ace tracks like “All Alone” and “Kiss Kiss Bye Bye”, you can pick out an exceptionally well-honed melodic structure buried beneath all that raging, raucous noise. Greg takes it to 11 in every respect, but it’s not enough to say these songs are fast or furious or oozing attitude. One has to add that said tunes are really freaking good. There was a time when bands of this nature were a dime a dozen, but even in that era The Mongrolls would have been top shelf. If you don’t like “Rock & Roll”, then you don’t like rock & roll.

- L.R.

http://www.reverbnation.com/themongrolls