''Muzz'' is the studio album by American rock supergroup
Muzz. The album was released on June 5, 2020, through
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts.
History
Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...
.
Four singles were released ahead of the album: "Bad Feeling", "Red Western Sky", "Broken Tambourine", and "Knuckleduster".
The album was met with positive critical reception, with contemporary music journalists praising
Paul Banks' vocals in a softer setting.
Background
The members of Muzz:
Paul Banks,
Josh Kaufman
Josh Kaufman (born November 9, 1976) is an American soul singer and singer-songwriter. A native of the Tampa Bay area in Florida, Kaufman is based out of and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is best known for winning the season 6 of NBC's ' ...
, and Matt Barrick, have been friends since the early 2000s, during the height of the New York City
post-punk revival
Post-punk revival (also known as garage rock revival,J. Stuessy and S. D. Lipscomb, ''Rock and roll: its History and Stylistic Development'' (London: Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th edn., 2006), , p. 451. new wave revival,. and new rock revolution) is ...
scene. The three began recording demos, which laid the foundation for Muzz as far back as 2015. In late 2019 into early 2020, the band began recording material for a studio album under the name "Muzz".
On April 15, 2020, the album was announced, corresponding with their third single, "Red Western Sky".
Release and promotion
Singles
Muzz released four singles prior to their self-titled album. The first single, "Bad Feeling", was released on March 5, 2020.
"Broken Tambourine", the first official single through Matador,
came out a few weeks later, on March 24.
On April 15, 2020, the third single "Red Western Sky" was released, along with an accompanying music video.
"Knuckleduster" was the fourth and final single released. The single was released on May 28, 2020, a week ahead of the album's release.
Music videos
The first music video released was for "Broken Tambourine", on March 24, 2020.
The music video was produced by Banks, while
Griffin Frazen
Griffin James Frazen (born October 8, 1987) is an American actor, best known for his role as Jimmy Finnerty on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life''.
Frazen was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from New York University's Gallatin School o ...
provided creative direction and animation. The music video features an
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
traveling and fall through
outer space
Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
.
On April 15, 2020, the music video for "Red Western Sky" was released. The music video features the band performing in the American Treasure Tour Museum in
Oaks, Pennsylvania
Oaks is an unincorporated community located in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The community is 18 miles (30 km) northwest of Philadelphia and its boundaries are defined in large part by the village's position at ...
. The video was directed by Derek Sexton Horani and Michael Andrade.
On May 28, 2020, the music video for "Knuckleduster" debuted. The music video, directed by Horani, features the band playing in a loading bay basement underneath an arena.
Critical reception
''Muzz'' was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 75, based on 12 reviews.
Aggregator Album of the Year gave the album a score of 74 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 15 reviews.
Track listing
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2020 debut albums
Muzz (band) albums
Matador Records albums