Max and the Wild Things self-titled album is indescribable. The full-length 12-track album offers solid rhythms, catchy guitar riffs, an array of different sounds, and a variety of genres from track to track. Songs like “You Got Your” and “In Tune” present a cleaner guitar sound with standing-bass riffs, while the lyrics reflect their Southern roots, offering listeners more of a folk feel. The band markets themselves as New Wave, Americana and Post Punk, although it is difficult to make any sort of genre classification with this band. (The label of post-punk may be used to denote the brass used in some of the songs, which offers a unique twist to a familiar sound). The band sounds more like a mix of rockabilly with a dab of sound from songs by artists from the 60s, like “Goin’ Down the Road,” by Woody Guthrie. The track “Enough” sounds like a countrified Bob Dylan without the harmonica, as the vocalist sings about having a pack of cigarettes and a lot of sin.
Bringing back the rockabilly sound is a courageous endeavor for Max and the Wild Things. It’s questionable whether the album provides a new sound for eager ears to listen to, because there is a lot of infusing going on throughout each song, which can sometimes detract from originality. In the band’s defense, they admirably try to offer something old and something new. Though the sound of the album as a whole is almost overly retro, and the tracks are reminiscent of a lot of “older- style” music, the talent is indisputable. Download the entire album at their bandcamp page.—EJ Hirsch