This post was originally made offsite in June 2017.
Background
This was probably the height of the Muffs’ popularity. Their cover of “Kids in America” was heard by millions in Clueless, and “Sad Tomorrow” from this LP was doing well on the radio (as Kim Shattuck would proclaim in concert as her excuse for refusing to tune). It was looking all uphill from here, as labels were scrambling to hop on the pop-influenced punk wave that was brewing, but it just wasn’t to be. The Muffs are still around, one hiatus and several albums later, but they unfortunately never got big enough to draw the stadium crowds that Green Day and some other contemporaries did. While they started to touch success, they weren’t quite allowed to grasp it and hold on. No one quite knows why it didn’t work too well, but at least we have a solid discography to go back to.
Track by Track Thoughts
“Agony” starts off the album with the energy you can always expect from the gang. The departure of Melanie Vammen isn’t exactly glaring (much like her presence on the first album), but the change from Criss Crass to Roy McDonald behind the drums is clear. Where Criss brought straightforward punk energy, with the Muffs Roy seems to restrain himself and play more to the song. The drums usually take a backseat to the punchy guitars and catchy melodies, and this track is no different. Kicks and snares hit almost playfully with vocal punches at times (“soon you’ll re-a-lize”). Ronnie Barnett delivers what he usually does, bass that plays nice with the guitar and vocals and is usually mixed too quietly to hear it anyway. Kim provides the normal couple chords and switches nicely between melodic stretches and her trademark scream, capping the song off with a series of yells that wouldn’t feel out of place on a metal track.
“Oh Nina” is a live favorite and it’s clear why from the jump: the guitar, bass, and snares hitting in machine gun succession can liven up the deadest crowd, and the sing-songy flow and catchy chorus are just plain fun. The screams are on point and numerous, as usual, making you wonder how she’s still able to talk after hundreds of times performing this song. The subject matter, seemingly about being “lured” by a transgender woman (or a “queer,” as Kim puts it) is funny enough. In general, this is another exercise in consistency by the group, nothing amazing but always a good listen.
“On and On” sees Ronnie’s bass poke through a little more, with another nice melody and riff from Kim and solid drums from Roy. “Two ugly people come my way, tell me that I’m wrong” perfectly encapsulates the adolescent rebel vibe ever present in Kim’s lyrics. The key change towards the end of the track is a rare treat in the Muffs’ discography, another callback to the songs of old that influenced Kim’s songwriting. This one’s the shortest on the album, clocking in at 1:47.
“Sad Tomorrow” is likely their most talked about song, even though it’s honestly not much of a standout on the album or in their catalog as a whole. Ronnie’s bass is audible once again, mostly matching Kim’s vocals throughout. The solo is used sparingly throughout the Muffs’ history, but it’s present here, again mostly following the vocal melody.
“What You’ve Done” is a story of a love gone wrong, another topic Kim’s no stranger to. “One fine day I caught you lying” explains the mystery of what you’ve done pretty bluntly. This is another shorter track, again not reaching two minutes. There’s a solid few chords as usual, plus a solo, but there’s not much to really go into. The hook is catchy but being interspersed among the vocal- and rhythm-driven verses may hurt it some.
“Red-Eyed Troll” seems to me to be the story of a girl who picks on Kim and tries to steal her boyfriend. It’s notable for being the only track where Kim drops an F-bomb (“You piece of shit now, you fuckin’ jerk”). This is another fun listen, with the verse seeing the bass hitting with the kick drum and the guitar laying quick, maybe Primus-like chord hits over the snare. During the hook, the bass switches to arpeggiating up and down while the guitar sustains a bit. One false ending and a frantic coda brings it to an end.
“End It All” feels even shorter than it is. It’s pretty standard for them, essentially all hook with simple but energetic instrumentation. It’s catchy enough, but that’s all you’ll get. But isn’t that all you need?
“Laying on a Bed of Roses” is half indecipherable, but the other half might be about Kim getting mad at a lover who she feels she works too hard for, or something. I don’t know. It’s not necessarily as catchy as others on here, nor is it as energetic, but it just grooves nicely. It might be a bit of a grower for some as compared to other tracks on here, so keep that in mind.
“I Need a Face” is the first of two face-related tracks on the LP, and the one that has the funniest story relating to it (Kim dedicating it to Kurt Cobain the day after his suicide, leading Roy to quit on his first day before coming right back). This one’s catchy, with a fun bassline and a hook made for a crowd to sing along to (“Hang on, hang on, hang on meeee”).
“Won’t Come Out to Play” is my personal favorite from the album. It’s another one that’s basically all hook, and the hook is incredibly catchy despite the dour lyrics. The bass is great and plays nice with everything else, the guitar work could be a singalong on its own, the drums stand out a bit without taking over, and the key change is the best I’ve heard from them. Packing all of this into just a minute and 52 seconds makes this one you could play over and over without getting tired of bobbing your head.
“Funny Face” is one of the slower tracks on here, at around 67 BPM. Another one you want to sing with. The triplet guitar riff and hi-hats together make for a good listen, and even if I couldn’t decode the lyrics’ larger meaning at gunpoint, they’re easy enough to make out. If there’s one thing to criticize, it’s the fade out ending. Who the hell likes a fade out?
“Ethyl My Love” is another fan favorite, written about the side character played by Vivian Vance on I Love Lucy. The easy to follow chorus, crazy screams from Kim, and the relatively soft bridge that jumps right back into the chaos all probably contribute to the song’s status among many diehard Muffs fans (Muff-heads? Muff divers?).
“I’m Confused” is another favorite of mine, though I prefer the demo version by a lot. It oozes petulance in the way only Kim can (“I hate everyone, and I don’t like it son,” “Everybody is an ass”), and when you combine that with the instrumental it creates another standout by the group. The way the song devolves into chaos is a nice touch, with multiple guitar tracks, the bass track, and the drums just going nuts for the last 45 seconds or so. It adds to the idea of being confused, and serves as an abrupt transition into the closer.
“Just a Game” finishes this LP softly, with a solo track by Kim. Whatever the lyrics mean, the song as a whole manages to give you the feeling that it’s closing time. At just a second under two minutes, it’s not exactly a marathon, but the slower tempo makes it feel longer than it is. It’s not a barn burner like you might expect an album by a triad of pop punkers to close on, but it somehow fits. It’s a rare treat live and, when Shattuck can hit the notes, it’s easy to see why.
Final Thoughts
Blonder and Blonder is decidedly less punk than the Muffs’ previous, self-titled effort, but it fits into their discography as a perfect middle ground in their transition from that more punk, less pop to more of a balance like you’ll find on Really Really Happy. Any Muffs fans out there have undoubtedly already heard this album, and fans of the genre would be remiss if they hadn’t given it a shot. For those on the fence, or those who might not be familiar with the pop punk blend, you should probably give it a spin if you’re into the kind of three-chord, aggression-over-art style that groups like the Ramones and Nirvana were known for. While you can hear the influence of older, softer groups, it’s not a smooth transition from them to this, so it might not be a great starting point for them. If you only know the Muffs from Sad Tomorrow or Kids in America and didn’t like what you heard, it might be worth peeping depending on what you liked and disliked. Disliking Kim’s voice would make this a hard no, obviously, since it’s her band and her voice on every track. If you disliked the songwriting or the poppiness, it might be worth a shot considering “Kids in America” was a cover and “Sad Tomorrow” was essentially their play for college pop/rock radio.
The positives outweigh the negatives on this project for me by far. The Muffs’ consistency is more of a boon than it is a hindrance. Kim could write a song in her sleep, even if the less discerning might not remember it the next day. This album provides some standouts, but perhaps not as many as you might expect considering the critical acclaim and the mix of youth and experience Kim, Ronnie, and Roy had at the time. There’s pretty endless replay value, as the songs manage to fit well on the album without blending together or feeling too samey and it doesn’t command your attention necessarily. It’s not too long but it’s not something you can’t skip tracks on if you want to. Overall, I think these things make Blonder and Blonder a solid 9/10 in my book.