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Album Release - Does It Even Matter - Party Muscles


Allow me to introduce to you to Party Muscles, a 4 piece retro garage rock band hailing from Philadelphia. 
Colin Mccarry, Beau Everett Gordon, Tyler Pursel & Joshua Strange.

The Capgun may only be for show yet Party Muscles is the real deal. There is a rawness to their delivery coupled with driving guitar riffs, unhinged yet contained. The title appears as a lyric in the unadulterated lyrical smash that is “Secret Language”.   “Watch me as I gasp for air.” He can’t decide if the person can remain a friend. Will it ever be that way again. He goes on to ruminate “Does it even matter?”  Colin is musing  about a desire to move on. But, ever astute, he knows he needs to look back. The feels like a crash course in questioning one’s relationship reality. 

The dynamic guitar playing should be noted. Party Muscles is a crashing band. They play hard, quick.  I like they get into their music. It is obvious if you watch the video of “Pocari Sweat”. A Strokes like sound but one they can capture as their own.  (Fun fact POCARI SWEAT is a health drink which contains ions for body fluid replacement.  There are a few ways to take that.)  The video is shot on an empty back street. The urbanity and lack of shine under a sunlit afternoon sky, allows Party Muscles the freedom to rip. The rapid bullet speed of the drumming alongside the wild shredding gives this song an early 2000 garage rock feel. I revel in their walking around like rebels with their long hair and insouciant fashion sense. They seem to want to give us that 2000 sound while keeping one Van sneaker in the 70s.  I am not complaining. What they don’t do is stay in one place at one time. Unlike some other contemporary 4 piece bands, these move around. They switch it up.

Another stand out track on this album is “She Goes to Juuliard”. It is a subtle swipe at a chick who vapes and did a guy dirty. “I don’t want to be your secret/You don’t want anything more than that.”  A wry observation about the foibles that arise in contemporary “dating”. Tyler scratches at the edges of the strings of his Fender, creating wild spitfire riffs. Beau brushes the edges of his axe to accompany the sound fray. Coupled with the brash vocal machismo and vibrant drumming, this song is a favorite for them to play live. It has a 4 part harmony at the break. They claim it should really be played at the end of a set, but they wind up playing it early so they don’t ruin the impact with tired voices.

“Peruvian Sunshine” packs a punch in its 2 minute and 46 second cameo. It is actually a scene stealer on this 11 track album. It rivets in a messy state but still holds that crisp fierceness of good garage rock. Party Muscles crafts songs that pop with cutting lyrics and swift, edgy rhythms. PM proves to be a band that does matter. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY_z5kLYeus

https://partymuscles.bandcamp.com/album/does-it-even-matter

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