Mean Motor Scooter are motoring in a slightly new direction.
With their new album, the popular local quartet have brightened up their garage-punk to achieve a sound that’s decidedly poppier. Frontman Sammy Kidd says this new approach has been a long time coming, and it’s part of the reason he, guitarist William Rakkar, drummer Mike Surdel, and bassist Joe Tacke are so excited about Day Dreamer.
“This album is definitely not like anything we’ve ever done before, and I didn’t want it to be, Kidd said. “I just get tired of one type of sound or identifying the band as one type of thing. I wanted to do something that had more pop elements and something my younger 15-year-old self would enjoy.”
You could say in the influence of two new members — Surdel and Rakkar — partly explains the pop edge. Surdel played in garage-rockers Uncle Toasy, and Rakkar was in psych-rockers Phantomelo. His echoing, reverb-drenched style gives many Day Dreamer moments a surf kick.
“It feels like a totally different project, but it’s coming from the same facet,” he said. “It’s a cool role. I was an MMS fan before, but this transition is really cool. It was all Sammy.”
Recorded at Cloudland Recording Studio with Joe Tacke (Jenna Clark, The Mullens, The Go-Go Rillas), who also handled mixing and mastering, Day Dreamer was released yesterday on all streaming platforms. Mean Motor Scooter will celebrate the album release tonight (Saturday) with a show at The Boiled Owl Tavern (909 W Magnolia Av, Ste 8, 817-920-9616) at 8:30pm with openers Cool Jacket and LABELS.
“I don’t normally like to master my own stuff, but we were happy with it,” Tacke said. “We’ve been playing these songs live for about a year. None of the songs have been heard before besides hearing them played live.”
In late summer/early fall, around the time the guys plan on releasing Day Dreamer on vinyl, they will tour through Phoenix, Las Vegas, Southern California, Washington, Portland, and Denver, in addition to several Texas cities.
“You want most people to enjoy your work, but with music, you want to reach as many people as you can,” Kidd said.
