“New York Summer”
from the album Mink
2007
iTunes
The five rockers of the band Mink, one from Brooklyn and the others from Australia, confidently perform their music on their new CD Mink.
It is obvious that many of their new songs have been influenced by older rock bands such as the New York Dolls and Kiss, as well as by other more modern alternative bands such as Jet and the Strokes.
The guitars are fierce and edgy and distinctly echo the sound of fellow Aussie rockers Jet. Guitarists David Lowy and Nick Maybury hold great harmony between the chords of the rhythm and the soloing lead. Opening track “Get it Right” would fit perfectly in the latest Jet album, perhaps better than some of Jet’s own songs. Additionally, “New York Summer” features a striking resemblance to Jet’s song “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.” The over-driven guitars in the songs “Madame Chung” and “Talk to Me” are reminiscent of several Strokes’ songs such as “Ize of the World” and “You Talk Way Too Much.” Any chosen guitar solo is carefully articulated and played hard.
Lead singer Neal Carlson’s singing style sounds at times like he is channeling Steven Tyler, Lou Reed or the Velvet Underground. Much of “Get it Right” and “Madame Chung,” as well as the chorus of “Crazy World,” could nearly pass as Aerosmith songs, most notably in Carlson’s voice. “Dematerialize” shows Carlson most like Reed, mimicking his notable style of “talking” the lyrics. With the same song it is possible to see Reed’s influence on Carlson’s song writing. The song “Untouchable” shows Carlson’s strong falsetto and sounds like it could have been taken off of a Weezer album.
The band’s lyrics contain a variety of topics. In “Madame Chung,” which is a reference to a brothel in Chinatown, Carlson sings, “Madame Chung satisfies / As she gets you what you want all night.” In “Dematerialize,” the rockers convey a message about society to their listeners: “Artists in the high rise / singing about the hard life / The Millionaires laugh / cause they don’t leave no tip.”
The bass is very steady and in good alignment with the drummer. However, the screaming and distorted guitars, as well as the vocals, typically drown out the bass. The lines are definitely there, but due to the surrounding music, they come out much simpler than they really are. The two exceptions to this are “Get it Right” and “Crazy world,” in which the bass controls the verse, but even here it gets covered by feedback from a guitar, The drums, while definitely more prominent than the bass, seem to be little more than a way to keep the guitars together. The one exception is “Get it Right,” where drummer Stella Mozgawa is able to showcase some talent. Unfortunately, this is one of the few chances she gets.
True to the glam-rock style of the late ’70s and ’80s, nearly every track has a beat that can be danced to. With the exception of “Will Not Let You Down,” no song would be out of place at all in a dance club. In fact, DJ Spank Rock has already remixed the band’s first single “Talk to Me” to include a very upbeat techno rhythm (an iTunes exclusive).
Mink makes a great effort to keep its album true to the bands that did glam best. Glam-rock may be seeing a comeback, and with Mink opening for Kiss on its latest tour, this band may well be a part of it. With these catchy songs in their arsenal for the future, Mink could easily become a popular band.