Exclaim! Magazine (Canada)
11/23/2010
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NYC duo Woozy Viper were clearly born at the wrong time. Not because their simplistic '60s garage rock, heavy on twangy reverb, monotone recording techniques and minimalist verse-chorus-verse structure, would have been capable of selling millions years ago, mind you. It's more of a realization that since these guys are the less goofy, genre-specific version of Ween, one can imagine somebody like Joey Ramone just adoring them.
With such sugary melodies and an endlessly sentimental tone propelling their plunk-y guitars and snare, you can bet he would have fallen in love with, and championed, them. Still, while they may not garner any sort of international celebrity, those of us needing a taste of Elevator/Eric's Trip's Rick White doing T. Rex tunes on dime store guitars are in for a real treat.
Listen Before You Buy
10/13/2009
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My introduction to Woozy Viper, a duo from Brooklyn, was the virulent and easily repeatable “You Can’t Find Me”, the opening track on their second album “Rock & Roll”.
It’s a good intro to an album that follows in the footsteps of the virulent and easily-repeatable hooks, dislocated Lo-Fi jangle that’s comparable to that of Harlem or Jaill, but at the same time putting their own unflappable spin on skeeze-rock. You will more than likely finish the album with a foot sore from tapping and a million little pieces of broken-glass-harmonies embedded deep within your skull.
Sonic Masala
10/1/2010
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Woozy Viper are brothers Luke and Mitch Meseke, are from Kansas but now reside in New York City, wear shades in photos, and love to party. Heard it all before? Not quite. They are releasing their 2nd LP, Rock & Roll, and its more of the same lo fi party garage rock that would have been played by the cooler kids in Richie Cunningham's class, the more natural proteges of the Fonz except they were too cool for Arnold's Drive In.
Rock & Roll doesnt really try to be anything new, or even overtly literate - what they have done is tapped into a few cross-generational reservoirs - the pop rock simplicity of the 60s, the excess and swagger of the 70s, the lo-fi approach to recording from the 80s, the unabashed punkified party sounds of like minded garage rock acts (a la Black Lips) with a smattering of blues dirt (a la White Stripes on their first couple of albums)...and it is very, very catchy. This album does not overstay its welcome, clocking out at under 28 minutes, but is so giddily intrusive that you want them to stick around for a few more liquor-laced milkshakes.
Whats more, not only are Woozy Viper hard to track down info wise - they are doing their darnedest to be all about the music by releasing the LP free! Yep, head over here to pick up the entire thing. Ive had it playing for 90 minutes, and I cant stop, even if I wanted to, which I dont. There's some serious bite here...
Kids Like You & Me
9/24/2010
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1. “You Can’t Find Me” A
2. “Dinner And A Movie” B
3. “Dirty” B+
4. “Party Town U.S.A.” B
5. “It’s Such A Drag” B+
6. “I Want To Strangle You” B+
7. “She’s Mine” B+
8. “Black Is The New Black” A-
9. “Real Good Time” A-
10. “Dislocated Shoulder” A
Comments: Good stuff. To me, it’s rather run of the mill rock and roll (appropriate title) that plays like your (above) average power-pop/garage rock revue. Not too much on here blows my mind, but there are a lot of fun listens to be had. I’ve read about Black Lips comparisons and that’s simply not appropriate or fair. These guys are more Nobunny than Lips. Lyrically and musically.
Grade: B+ (88)
Cactus Mouth
9/23/2010
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It can be cool to listen to all the new sounds that the music scene has to offer. People are always pushing genre envelopes and creating new sounds. While it’s great to stay on top of all that stuff, sometimes you want to just listen to some good old fashioned rock-n-roll. Forget all these new microgenres. Stop worrying about staying ahead of the curve.
Woozy Viper can give you just that. Their slightly fuzzy brand of old fashioned garage rock is really refreshing. These two dudes craft some pretty effective throwback music somewhere between the likes of Ty Segall and Kurt Vile. Very simple song structures. Simple but groovy, man.
Their album Rock & Roll (fitting title) is available for free download on the band’s website. It’s a rollicking good time so do yourself a favor and get on it.
Electric Comic Book
9/18/2010
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Woozy Viper return
It’s a damn shame that Woozy Viper do not (supposedly) perform live. After their first album was released to absolute mystery last year, the Meseke Brothers had the ear of several bloggers, including myself. I mean, I found out about the album from a business card stacked up at the Standard, a convenience store in Brooklyn. Plain white with the Woozy Viper website on the back, and the horror-movie style blood-drip font logo on the front. So it makes me wonder how they’ve managed to get the attention of bloggers in, say, Istanbul, let alone California or anyone else in America, for that matter. That’s perhaps one half testament to the speed of information these days, and the other the reality being that these guys are just that fucking good.
And they are! They are!
So imagine my joy when I get an e-mail giving me a heads-up that there’s new Woozy Viper material out there, once again, for free and available for download.
After an album of straight forward rock and roll (on electro-acoustic guitars and one drum kit, I think — I don’t know, I don’t have that good of an ear for technical stuff, so if the guys are reading this, please let me know what it is you cats are using), self-titled and released with no kind of publicity beyond it’s own quality, their second album, titled Rock and Roll, opens with the same kind of good humor found in the first. “You Can’t Find Me” opens up with a riff that can be described as tough, lean, and sexy all at once, and lyrics that sneer with a tongue in cheek at the same time. “Dinner and a Movie” is even simpler than the first track, a rockabilly tune that sounds like Hasil Adkins a little calmer.
The album seems to go on in that kind of pattern, where all songs are straight forward rock and roll, but with a few more complicated tunes taking turns with the simpler ones. It’d be easy to write this off as just more of the same; however, the self-titled first tune is apparently more of a blues album, full of straight acoustics and more laid-back tempos. Rock and Roll is full of barn-burning lo-fi (seriously — it sounds like the television is on in the living room at the beginning of “Black is the New Black), which these guys have mastered when comparing to the first’s cleaner sound. There’s no indulgently long jams like “The Switchblade Song,” but tons of smirking, snarky rock to make it one of finer releases this year that you can listen to with friends, just as much as dance to it. A title like “Party Town U.S.A” could be a sarcastic retort to pop tunes, or it could be a legit party tune, or both. A unique and catchy vocal melody says “yes.” “I Want to Strangle You” has plenty of that dangerous lover grit, from the head-nod rhythm to the slick bass line, and the psych lead guitar, in addition to the lead singer’s delivery, which is more assured this time.
Grade: A. Stellar straight-forward album of great rock and roll, that is less tribute and more like the real thing. The Mesekes still keep it stripped of excesses, and still manage a dark, sexy sound. Even on poppier tunes like “She’s Mine” still have a certain dark psychedelic quality going for it. No, you may never find Woozy Viper out in public (and know it), but hopefully, they’ll keep churning out great underground albums like this. Please, please, please, go check them out, download their album, and donate to keep them afloat!
And you can do that here.
Here’s a sample, “You Can’t Find Me” off of Rock and Roll. And thank you to Woozy Viper for giving me the permission to put this up, as well as just making a damn good record. Thanks, guys.
The Needle Drop
9/16/2010
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This New York rock ‘n’ roll duo has just released their second album. It doesn’t have the highest fidelity, but the sound is nothing fans of the Velvet Underground, Sonics, Seeds won’t be familiar with.
And the price: Free. Just head to the band’s website and download all 10 tracks for nothing more than a mere click–but do keep in mind you are free to donate to the band if you’re enjoying their stuff. The donate link is at the bottom of their site’s front page. Download and let me know if you dig.
yvynyl
9/8/2010
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Been diggin’ on the lo-fi jams of Brooklyn’s Woozy Viper for some time now. They trump the surfy rock n’ roll Americana sound like your favorite old pair of blue jeans. Wouldn’t you know it, they’ve just dropped a new album that you can grab free on their website. Get it.
No Genre
9/6/2010
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Mid-Year Report – Albums
#25. Woozy Viper – s/t (self-released)
I’m tempted to say that the songs are deceptively simple. But that’s not right. These are simple songs. But what was ever wrong with simple? The Ramones were simple. The Dead Milkmen were simple. Most of the best of Loud Reed was simple. Simple never steered anyone wrong. Simple is refreshing these days. Check out “Rent,” a cow-bell driven jam about, um, how much it sucks to pay rent. Then there’s “King Kong,” an ode of sorts to, um, King Kong. Sample lyric: “He tried to steal the girl even though he couldn’t fit it in the girl.” And guess what “Love Scented Candles” is about. This album is so free of bullshit that it completely disarms you.
Austin Town Hall
9/29/2010
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I've been jamming to this sweet new track from NYC group Woozy Viper. The band is self-releasing their latest batch of hits, titled Rock n' Roll, which you can still grab for free from their web site, but we encourage the usual donation. They've got this Cramps feel, but with a little bit less of a horror approach, exchanging it for a nice little modern spin, making it catchy enough for everyone to enjoy. We dig it, and we hope you do too.
Jungle Rot
9/5/2010
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The mysterious weirdos behind WOOZY VIPER have released another venomous album into the world and it's completely free.
"ROCK & ROLL" is a fitting title for the album, which runs the gamut of rock n' roll sounds, from Stones-y struts to Sun Records echoed out rompers.
Download the album at their website below and shoot them an e-mail to let 'em know you like it. This will be a personal favorite of mine for a good while.
Rollo & Grady
9/5/2010
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Woozy Viper // Rock & Roll
filed under Artist To Watch
Hindustan Times (India)
9/3/2010
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Legally Free
Here’s a confession. I’m a sucker for interesting band names. So when Obscure Sound, an mp3 blog that I get feeds from, suggested Woozy Viper, a New York city duo that makes Sixties kind of mod music but with a contemporary twist I was definitely up for it. Woozy Viper can remind you of Black Lips or MC5 or even the Pixies but their music is far from derivative. I sampled three songs, King Kong, Look Out! and The Switchblade Swing before discovering that the band’s debut album is downloadable for free. They have a style that is as classic as it is modern. And their songs don’t take time to grow on you.
Obscure Sound
8/26/2010
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We all know that guy. The one who wakes up still drunk, refuses to spend more than ten dollars for a t-shirt, and reads the works of Hunter S. Thompson like a to-do list. Luke and Mitch Meseke both are probably “that guy” and, fortunately for us, they form the all-elusive Woozy Viper. Without even so much as a bio, their ’60s-inspired rock emits a form of authenticity that makes it feel as if we already know and love them.
At first listen many may draw comparisons to the Black Lips and rightly so, but I think just pairing them alongside their coevals would not be doing Woozy Viper justice. The NYC-based duo have successfully taken the great pop sensibilities of the Mod era and interwoven post-modern nuances to form a refreshing aberration. Tracks like “Dirty Rat” and “King Kong” are reminiscent of The Monks in subversive catchy goodness, yet are original enough to not be imitative. The trademark vocals soar in their range and versatility, drawing comparisons to Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe ability to shine over lo-fi rawness.
This debut album is comparable to a cart spiraling out of control on broken elevated tracks in a rustic mine. Just as you start getting used to a steady vibe of Kinks-inspired throwback rock, Woozy Viper time-warp us back to the days of Jerry Lee Lewis with the song “Woah Baby”. Yet, the very next track swelters Jim Morrison-esque croons. Then the proverbial “lever” is pulled and we are still in that old rustic mine, descending at a mind-whirling velocity from soulful cowboy ballads to spastic ditties that, at times, have the off-kilter whisper-shout stylings that take a surprising nod to such acts as Suicide and The Pixies.
While I was painstakingly cutting out the shoulder pads of a new sweater, I felt comfort in knowing that although some fads need to die a horrible sordid death, there remain some styles that are classic and need to be revisited in order to be preserved. The latter is such the case with this gem of an album, which by the way is free (though you can also support the band by buying it here)! The MC5 would be proud that their spirit of kicking out the jams still lives on through this Kansas duo. Now feel free to download their completely free album here. If you like it, you should be happy to know that their sophomore album, Rock & Roll, is on the way.
RIYL: Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols, The Kinks, The Monks, The Warlocks, Spacemen 3, The Black Angels, Darker My Love, Dead Meadow, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Spiritualized, 13th Floor Elevators, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Wooden Shjips The Velvet Underground, Comets on Fire, Galaxie 500, Deerhunter
No Genre
7/7/2010
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MID-YEAR REPORT // BEST SONGS
#29. “It’s All Over” Woozy Viper // When I first heard this back in February, I compared it to Lou Reed’s work on Loaded. And while that might seem a tad overblown, I stand behind my statement. This is simple without being oversimplified, emotionally direct without being cruel.
Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good
4/9/2010
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Woozy Viper play a no-budget, no-frills version of rock & roll, the kind you find in legion halls all across the country. Maybe that’s why I love “Look Out!” so much, it reminds me of those bands I would see every weekend playing music just like this simply because it’s fun. The drums sound like they were recorded in the next room and the vocals are mixed too high, but a perfect recording was never the point of this kind of music. The wiry guitar, handclaps, and ghostly backing vocals turn the song into some macabre beach party, complete with references to graveyards and coyotes. You can grab Woozy Viper’s album over at their website for free, so you should go do that.
No Genre
2/24/2010
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Woozy Viper are not Lou Reed, but I don't think they aspire to be him either. But the duo from NYC sound remarkably like Reed at his peak, circa Loaded. On their debut album, which you can grab for free here, the band present a dozen gloriously uncomplicated songs that sound refreshingly like rock'n'roll. No studio wizardry. No electronics. No arch irony. No authenticity claims. No volcanic guitar solos. No leather jackets. No nothing but rock'n'roll.
I'm tempted to say that the songs are deceptively simple. But that's not right. These are simple songs. But what was ever wrong with simple? The Ramones were simple. The Dead Milkmen were simple. Most of the best of Loud Reed was simple. Simple never steered anyone wrong. Simple is refreshing these days. Check out "Rent," a cow-bell driven jam about, um, how much it sucks to pay rent. Then there's "King Kong," an ode of sorts to, um, King Kong. Sample lyric: "He tried to steal the girl even though he couldn't fit it in the girl." And guess what "Love Scented Candles" is about. This album is so free of bullshit that it completely disarms you.
Woozy Viper trust their songwriting enough to leave everything dangerously unadorned. And most of the songs pay big dividends. "The Switchblade Swing" is a wry cinema verite tour through the hell that is modern hipsterdom ("Who you trying to be?/I'm just trying to teach you the motherfucking switchblade swing."). But it's the music that's the big draw here: it's loose and ragged with its acoustic guitars and tambourines and effective rock scatting ("That's right, that was a scat, [it] makes me feel good"). The album closes with the its highlight, "It's All Over." Our singer is breaking up with his girl, and he couldn't sound happier. It's not interested in lobbing accusations; he's not going to drag the past out to dissect. He's just telling her that it's all over. Simple as that. And what could be fucking greater than that?
Rating: 7.5/10
The Needle Drop
2/24/2010
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Introducing Woozy Viper
Woozy Viper is a Brooklyn/Queens duo with a menacing garage rock sound. And, of course, they're kinda lo-fi, too. Just imagine if you could throw The King Khan & BBQ Show into a melting pot with The Velvet Underground. Woozy is calm, laid back, somewhat druggy; but they've got their upbeat, eccentricities too.
Electric Comic Book
2/22/2010
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Album Review: Woozy Viper’s self-released, eponymous, myterious album.
The Brothers Meseke make up Woozy Viper.
Finding a rare album by a long-lost gem of a band would fill any rock aficionado’s dark little heart with the kind of joy and mirth only reserved for a sunny day. Finding a band that you know you’re going to wind up saying “I knew them when. . .” may be even better, though heartbreaking. Then, there’s of course, just finding your favorite new live act, who blows their minds, eyes, and ears of anyone within fifty feet of a small stage in Brooklyn (namely, at the Union Pool or Don Pedro’s.
Woozy Viper is none of these. At all.
Woozy Viper is composed of two Kansas expatriate brothers who’ve relocated in Brooklyn. Other than their names, Luke and Mitch Meseke, or that Mitch is an illustrator who makes his love of rock and roll into beautiful masterworks, nothing is known. Their MySpace shows their album over (the image above), and provides a link to their website where you can download their entire album for free. They have no shows planned, it’s unknown if these guys ever played a show, and yet, they are still creating a buzz among the serious rock and roll blogs. The album was supposedly posted sometime in December, and I’ve only found their business card at the Brooklyn standard two weeks ago during that miserable snowstorm — the card is just their “Munsters”-influenced logo and the URL to their website. Who knows which brother plays what, but if I can make a guess: they both play acoustic guitars, and Luke is gently tapping at the skins, and for all I know, they use a Boss BR-532 digital 4-tracker to record, resulting in the clean-yet-lo-fi aesthetic of the album. This is music for people who get wrapped up in the legends of recluses like J.D. Salinger and Jendek.
Enough about the fucking story! How’s the album itself? In short: It’s pretty damned good.
The only track with any kind of fire to it is the opener, the surf-blues fusion of “Look Out!” wherein the opening line is the ballsy “I got graveyard dirt in my mouth,” in a moan reminiscent of the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. The rest of the eleven tracks reflect their name perfectly: woozy, boozy, swaying acoustic-based garage blues, with some of the finest lyrics that sting. These are guys who take their rock and roll to heart, and know that deep down it’s supposed to be goofy and fun with allusions abound. “Come Over” sounds like a slowed down version of the Rolling Stones’ “Down Home Girl” (complete with the sliding guitar fill), but with each verse starting “Japanese violin player,” you can’t help but think of something Rivers Cuomo wrote a few years ago. The longest track “The Switchblade Swing” is a six-minute folk-jam, wherein Mitch (or Luke?) sing lyrics about hipsters looking like Polaroid pictures, and ask who they’re trying to be, before moving on to a scat singing before admitting that stuff’s not popular anymore. Or, take “King Kong,” which includes a line mentioning the big ape’s ah, . . . intentions not coming to fruition, to put it gently. All of it fun, very simple, and catchy at points. However, at the album’s center, however, is the fast-paced and silly “Speaking in Tongues,” where between decrying the death of the ghost of rock and roll, the singer stumbles over the line ‘Lookin’ out my window, waitin’ for the devil to come / Ohh watch-out-now-ohh-watch-out-now!” It certainly makes the case.
Grade: B-. It’s a short, twelve-song collection of cool acoustic-based blues tunes that are shrouded in ridiculous mystery. Put that aside, and it’s a loving addition to the realm of great garage bands: here for a moment, gone the next, only to thrive in the energy and excitement of rock and roll. Yet, it could benefit from more up-tempo numbers like “Look Out!”, and if it were maybe even a little dirtier aesthetically, to go with the subdued percussion in the background. All in all, watch their sites closely, as I feel big things are going to come their way if they ever want to make a go at it and play live.
Yuck Blog
2/14/2010
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keywords: garage surferock cool tarantino-esque woozy viper
Your Third Ear
2/12/2010
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This Brooklyn band reminisces on the beach days of the 60's and 70's on their self-titled debut. This album which they are giving away for free is comprised of a few catchy tunes but at the same time quite a few boring and repetitious. The semi-lo-fi sound is unique because it isn't the almost grunge-like scratchiness of Wavvves but it is a sound all their own. It feels like it was thrown together a little quickly just to get some material out there and when it comes to free music, you can't always expect the best. But I'd say it is worth a listen, certainly if you think the cover is interesting, they sound very much like you would expect.
Cocktail: The Black Keys meets Ezra Furman and the Harpoons meets Japandroids
The Pitch's Wayward Blog
2/10/2010
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Why Goner or Hozac haen't signed Brookyn's Woozy Vipers yet is surprising. Their brand of lo-fi, two-man bluesy garage rock seems like it would fit into those labels' rosters like a hand in glove. However, you don't have to worry about waiting for a label to release Luke and Mitch Meseke's self-titled release, as it's available for free download.
The Meseke boys are former locals, having moved to Brooklyn from Junction City. Mitch's artwork has been seen on posters around Lawrence (he did one for Tommy Ferrari last October). He's also a noted storyboardist. You can see his work at his website.
Music Induced Euphoria
1/29/2010
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Band of the Week: Woozy Viper
For fans of: King Khan, The Velvet Underground, White Denim, The Doors
There’s a scene in the Oliver Stone film The Doors, just before the band get signed. It’s them playing at a tiny club, and the mostly female crowd are absolutely intoxicated with Jim Morrison’s stage presence. Even though the band was what we would now consider an “indie” band at the time—unknown and unadulterated, the righteousness of the music just poured into the room and enraptured everyone around. There is a certain quality in great unsigned bands, there’s nothing else quite like it. They know how good they are, you know how good they are, and the whole room is just waiting for the rest of the world to catch on.
This is what Woozy Viper’s music sounds like to me. At times, they remind me of The Doors (like on “Love Scented Candles”). Mostly, they just make me damned proud of being an American. Lo-fi music via the Midwest never sounded so good. Luke and Mitch Meseke are brothers who come from Kansas. And all they wanna do-oo is make sweet love to your ears. The music is gritty and repetitive, but in a really appealing way. It’s infantile, but not immature. What I mean is that, especially on songs like “Whoa Baby”, the band manages to draw me back to my own childhood (even though I grew up in a suburb, not on a ranch). It’s nostalgic by default, not definition.
You know how some bands are obviously trying NOT to impress, but those are the ones you end up loving the most. The irony is oh so delicious.
The NYC-based duo is so confident in their inevitable future blow-up success that they’re offering their self titled debut for free online. You should do yourself a favour and get acquainted with their songs now, before everyone claims to have always loved them. You-know-exactly-what-I’m-talking-bout-Willis. When you’re done, you can join me as I anxiously wait on some tour dates.
Jungle Rot
1/24/2010
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Woozy Viper is a band from Brooklyn making rootsy blues punk tunes. That description doesn't really do it justice. The dudes on the album cover say it all. Anyways, you can download this whole biatch for free over at there website. Get it, you won't regret it.
Rollo & Grady
1/22/2010
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ARTIST TO WATCH // WOOZY VIPER
Get Off The Coast
1/16/2010
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If one thing remains evident about me, I hope it's that I absolutely love dirty, bluesy garage-rock. I don't get why anyone wouldn't. Woozy Viper gives us exactly that. Their name is their sound. This is poison that goes down smoother and slicker than anything you've ever encountered. And they're giving away their first album for free. Drink it on down.
Cows Are Just Food (UK)
1/16/2010
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so the finally part of saturday’s rum trilogy. two fellas. twelve songs. one free record. woozy viper: a good name to roll around the mouth and one that positively drips off the tongue.
hard for me not to dig this given it’s nods to the velvets, stones, stooges, femmes. total mucky sixties garage vibe with bits o’ blooze chucked in like some miniature exile on main street. creeping skeletal blues inflections aside, it’s sparse and to the point, no fucking around rock and roll. simple. basic. all played with a scruffy skuzzy swagger. and there ain’t a goddam thing wrong with that.
as opening lines go ‘i got graveyard dirt in my mouth’ is a pretty good one. but the highlight for me is the shuffling two chord fuzz of king kong and it’s amusing giant-monkey film / sexual politics metaphor: “he didn’t give a shit until some girl messed with his head and he wound up dead”.
indeed.
SF Critic
1/14/2010
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Woozy Viper is what you would call a palate-cleanser. Kansas-born and bred brothers Luke and Mitch Meseke recorded a lo-fi 12 song debut, put it up for free download with nothing but some seriously simple album art. It is an album of back-to-basics rock and roll songs, two scruffy vocalists, and tin can percussion. They sing songs about paying the rent, about wanting nice cars, and girls. They're the kind of rough and twangy songs that hearken back to a simpler time before "indie rock" was nearly synonymous with a heavy use of synthesizers (not that that's a bad thing). The songs are stylish and classic without seeming overly referential. For every song that overtly sounds like The Beatles or Johnny Cash, there are hints of Kurt Cobain's anguished drawl (on "The Switchblade Swing") or Sublime's plucky ska baselines (like "Dirty Rat"). They're a little bit country, a little Rolling Stones, and all-around enjoyable.
Small Town Pleasures (Greece)
1/7/2010
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I can say it's a pretty good album & if I can describe it I could say something between early Velvets & Stooges or something like that...I'm sure you'll like it!
Bloggerhythms
1/1/2010
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Luke and Mitch Meseke, the two brothers who are Woozy Viper, originally hail from Kansas and, unfortunately, that is virtually everything that is known about them. There is no biographical information anywhere online. Their MySpace page tells us nothing except that they are now living in New York City's outer boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. They are even giving their debut CD away for free on their one page website so apparently music is just their hobby. They only want to create it, not earn a living by it. Considering all of the above, why write about this new band? Because these boys are really onto something and they need to get their publicity machine revved up quickly. Their eponymous debut is a rock 'n roll breath of fresh air in a genre that has become increasingly stale.
The disc is a sparsely produced and arranged set of songs that fits Woozy Viper's low profile. All twelve tracks sound like unfinished demos but the simplicity is part of the music's charm. The brothers season their lo-fi garage rock with both acoustic guitars and an attitude but they also possess a sense of humor that is frequently missing in an art form that often takes itself far too seriously. For example, "Love Scented Candles" is a brief 1:44 in length and has no other lyrics except for it's title. Overall, the brothers have conjured up a tasty musical stew for anyone who likes rock 'n roll that is not trying to save the world.
There appears to be no information available anywhere regarding who sings, who wrote the songs, or who plays what instruments. Those unanswered questions add to the mystery surrounding the brothers. I'm anxious to see where they go from here.
Licorice Pizza
12/27/2009
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From Kansas, via New York, come the brothers Meseke. The duo, which goes by the name Woozy Viper, have just released their eponymous debut, an album of back-to-basics acoustic rock.
Don’t be misled into thinking these guys play peace and love coffee house music, though. From the album’s opening line, “I’ve got graveyard dirt in my mouth,” you know they’re up to something a little different. Without a doubt, there’s more blues influence than folk on this disk.
yvynyl
12/10/2009
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Diggin’ this Woozy Viper record. Lo-fi rockabilly garage rock. The tunes are free to download, I recommend you grabbing ‘em.
undomondo (Turkey)
12/9/2009
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Another duo from USA this time leaning more on good spirited rock music, is Luke and Mitch Meseke’s Woozy Viper. The brothers apparently think that in an information-abundant society, there’s never enough ego-boosting and self-identification, so they opted out of it completely. All we’ve got is a 12 song debut album for free download and a cover photo, which might increasingly be the trend for the artists of the next decade. What we’ve got here is a nod to their Kansas roots, and good ol’ rock & roll and pop with witty songwriting. I’m sure the music will speak for itself, so I’ll opt out of writing more as well, consider me impressed!