mssv
On and On
Big Ego Records
My introduction to mssv was unexpected and fortuitous. The specifics escape me, but the review pitch roughly read “sonically adventurous music-school-trained guitarist fronts band with Mike Watt and Stephen Hodges,” and they’re working a step outside power rock trio constrictions, post-genre. I quite liked their record Human Reaction, interviewed founder/guitarist/songwriter Mike Baggetta, and then stood slack jawed at their warmly received and well attended 2023 Orlando show.
This music says, “Get in the van.” It’s not Henry’s in-your-face MO, more-so a nudge or invitation. Further, Baggetta and his renowned cohorts allow us any seat short of behind the wheel, listening to a travelogue of sights, sounds, thoughts, conversations. It’s rich with references to their individual personal and musical histories and still-evolving group dynamics and camaraderie.
Holed up near Watt’s home base, San Pedro, impeccably recorded and produced at Big Ego Records, the album is a reminder of what sticks to the ribs and what doesn’t. Alliances and friendships. Gratitude. Forward motion abetted by freedom within structure. The views from windows, sometimes smudged. Sunsets and sunrises. Love bugs.
Opener “On and On” is catchy like a variety of ’90s indie rock bands. The solo is reminiscent of J Mascis, which is to say melodic, fuzzy, above board. Baggetta’s singing voice reminds me of Tom Verlaine. He intones, “All I want is a seat at your table/ I help you over the bridge when I’m able to be with you” and there’s a goodwill in Baggetta’s lyrics across the album. Nothing pollyanna, but cynicism isn’t winning awards.
Sometimes Baggetta’s playing is like Ray Crawford’s soft shoe approach with Ahmad Jamaal. “Boat Song” opens and closes with sirens, reverse gear chirps, and street noise. Watt and Baggetta bring to mind Ken Nordine’s word jazz. “No you can’t take that from me/ It don’t exist/ No you can’t take that away.” The fabled Econoline? Super slow motion waves lapping the side of any little engine that could. mssv do.
“Super Dumb” is Cream, if Ron Asheton had replaced “god” and Jack Bruce had a case of The Nerves. But it’s actually mssv who, here and across the album, meld and weld the rock canon. mssv weave along the well-trod road, then take a half-dozen stylistic detours within “Despair and Hilarity.”
There’s power pop under the hood. Extending the van metaphor on fumes. Baggetta and his mates can be downright downtempo and even pastoral and when they hit the pedals, the blurred scenery from roads is exhilarating.
