If you’ve read any combination of my articles here at 50thirdand3rd, you’ll notice a common theme running within them. Garage Rock. I absolutely love Garage Rock. The rawness and imperfections of something recorded outside of a polished recording studio, the do-it-yourself fury of naturally distorted guitars, or the scratchy wail of a vocalist multi-tasking. I could go on and on but I’m sure I’ve explained my love many times in other articles over the past year. This review is for the new vinyl single from White Mystery, however explaining what I love about this release could very well stand in for why I love garage rock itself.
Being from Chicago, I’ve heard the band name quite a few times in the live music circuit. White Mystery have made quite the name for themselves over the past few years. Since their conception in 2008, they’ve put out a handful of full lenght albums, shared the stage with top tier acts such as Garbage, Weezer, and The Stooges, had a spot at one of Chicago’s biggest music festival Riot Fest, and played close to 400 live shows! This is a band with such energy and poise, it’s next to impossible to view them as another garage rock duo like The Black Keys or White Stripes.
“Outta Control / Best Friend” is a two-song combo that showcases the band’s outrageous live show energy that not only plays up their strengths, but could arguably act as an appetizer as to what the band has to offer.
Side A’s “Outta Control” is a trashy bubble-gum pop anthem that staggers around a constant building punk rock beat that would be hypnotic and repetitious if played by any other band. White Mystery’s unpredictable presence is a mixture of The Rentals, The Cramps and The MC5, and despite only being a touch over two minutes, where it ends up is anyone’s guess (even after repeat listens!)
Side B’s “Best Friend” switches things up a bit with a Primus-meets-1960s pop vibe. It proves the band might love unhinged, hyper rock n roll, but still know how to deliver a steady groove. Alex White’s harmonized vocals is equal parts punk and blue-eyed soul and plays extremely well with her brother Francis’s steady beat that sounds like it’s ready to explode under the pressure of keeping the beat.
Outta Control / Best Friend is released on vinyl exclusively through Greenway Records and available in two variants. One being a random splatter that’s just as spontaneous as the band itself, and the other, a gorgeous picture
disc featuring an art style that’s chaotic yet controlled as the songs pressed upon it. Both are available in very limited numbers, so when this band (unsurprisingly) breaks out into mainstream success, these variants will no doubt become a sought after collector’s item!
If unpredictable Garage Rock is your thing, White Mystery hits all the sweet spots. If the warmth of vinyl and extremely rare collectable variants are your thing, Greenway Records‘s release will hit the spots twice! Pick up this release while you can, you won’t be disappointed!
For more info on White Mystery visit their Official Website
To purchase Outta Control / Best Friend on limited edition vinyl, visit Greenway Records
